What He Least Expected
by fightingfray
Summary: He is to become the mob-boss of a yakuza syndicate, as is his birthright. She is alone in the world and wants nothing more than to make something of herself. An unlikely twist of fate, and his father, bring the two together and maybe, just maybe, they are exactly what the other needs. Disclaimer: I do not own Ouran Highschool Host Club. I own only my OCs.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

The young lord stomped grumpily to the room at the end of the hallway. Why his father insisted he be woken up at such a ridiculous hour, he would never know. The cook wasn't even done making breakfast yet. What could the old man possibly have to say that was so damn urgent?

"Ah, my son! Come in! I bear great tidings for you!" The mob-boss waved the teenager in hurriedly and as the younger man took his place in front of his father, he couldn't help but to rub his face and grumble about how the man was a pain in his ass.

"what do you want, old man?"

"well as you know, you are to someday take over my position as leader of this syndicate." The teenager rolled his eyes and nodded his head lazily, annoyed to not only be awake but now having been reminded of his fate.

"And as such, you will have to also have a family of your own to assure the line of succession." This made the younger man blush a blood red, rivaling that of his own hair color and snarl slightly at the insinuation. The older man sighed heavily, moving over to the shrine built in honor of the woman which sat in the corner of the room, wiping a bit of dust off of the picture frame.

"Ritsu, not a day goes by that I do not miss your mother. She was my rock. My voice of reason in all the madness we must endure in our line of work." The young lord simply nodded. He had never really known his mother, as she had died when he was only 4, but his father spoke of her almost daily as if she were simply on a small vacation. She was apparently a very quiet, but intelligent woman with a good head on her shoulders. Well... As good as you can get for someone who falls in love with a gangster.

"I've begun to worry about you, my boy. Seventeen years old and you've never so much as mentioned a girl, let alone brought one home-"

"oh just shut up, old man." Ritsu interrupted him. He was sick of this conversation. It was kinda hard to bring a girl home when even the burliest of men were afraid of his face. And besides, what girl would want to spend an evening sipping tea in a house of illegal activity? It just wasn't possible. Any girl that was even worth the effort already had a line of suitors waiting on her, offering the promise of a better life with more money than he could ever offer. Money that wasn't dirty... His thoughts drifted to the adorable and kind Haruhi, the only girl who had ever caught his eye. And of course she was already, silently, spoken for.

Ritsu could care less if he would one day become a mob-boss. It was easier than struggling to make something of himself, which he most certainly would have had to do if he didn't already have this lined up for him. Guys like him didn't get to live the easy life. It just didn't happen. But he would be damned if he would waste time on women who would only reject him in the end due to his status as either a gangster or a commoner working for a living. Who needs girls anyway? From what he had seen at school (he didn't get out much. Never really saw a point in venturing beyond the walls of the syndicate except for school), all they cared about was who could buy them the most stuff and looked good doing it. Except for a certain small brunette, but again, that could never happen. He groaned.

The older man had waited patiently for his son to come out of the brief intermission he had taken into his own head. The boy had a tendency to keep to himself and sometimes over thought things, but he wouldn't dare try and interrupt the young man. Even he was scared of his sons temper and frigid glare most of the time.

"as i was saying," he cleared his throat, recapturing the half-sleepy attention of the rooms younger occupant, "you will need a wife at your side to help keep you grounded and run the business. As such, I feel it would be better to marry younger so you have time to forge the bond necessary to be beneficial BEFORE you have to deal with the challenge of learning to lord over men, and thus have arranged for a young woman to come live here." This most CERTAINLY caught Ritsu's attention, causing him to nearly flail with anger and embarrassment and nerves and pretty much every other negative emotion the young man had ever experienced. "She is to be your betrothed, and I will hear no objections. She will be here before dinnertime and we will discuss the terms of the engagement then." The older man declared with a ringing finality. Ritsu faltered; then, as if steam were pouring from his ears and nose in an impressive display of rage, he snorted in disgust at his father and stormed out of the room, slamming the door so hard it bounced back open.

"WHO THE HELL DOES THAT BASTARD THINK HE IS?!" The young lord roared as he stumbled out into the yard leading to the training garden, causing anyone within earshot (which must have been about a mile) to quake in fear and attempt to shield themselves from the young lords wrath.

####

" _Ladies and Gentlemen, we will begin our descent shortly. Please buckle your seat belts and place your trays in their upright and locked position and store your belongings under the seat in front of you. As always, thank you for flying with us. We know you have many options when it comes to traveling and we hope to see you again soon."_ The intercom droned on, repeating the well-rehearsed speech in Japanese while the stewardesses made their rounds, helping prepare everyone for landing. In her seat in the third row from the back on the right-hand side, right by the window where she could watch everything, a young woman sat, still amazed even after enduring nearly 18 hours worth of travel from the pleasantly dreary Washington to the gloriously colorful Oregon, a two-hour layover in the beautiful chain of islands that is Hawaii and straight to her new home from there. The plane would land and she would step foot on the soil of the city of Kumamoto before a driver was supposed to pick her up and take her on the three-hour long "hop, skip and a boat ride" to her new place of residence in the city of Kanto.

To say she was nervous was an understatement. She hadn't left Washington since arriving there when she was only eight years old and had been taken away from her crack-whore mother by the state. Since the woman and, consequently, her daughter had been traveling at the expense of whoever would give them a ride for almost a year, the foster system of Seattle became her new home while her mother withered away in some jail for a few years (certainly too long to be allowed to keep her parental rights, considering the seven pages worth of charges against the high school drop-out).

The teenager chewed on her lip while her fingers idly fiddled with the mp3 player in her hands. The small, outdated piece of technology was her prized possession. She had saved up for it for three years, working odd jobs around the houses of her various temporary homes whenever she was lucky enough to be in one that didn't require her to just sit in her room and stay quiet and not be a bother. Her honed ability to pick-pocket paid for a majority of it, though, and she spent countless hours at the computers in the back of public libraries downloading and transferring music onto it when she was supposed to be doing her homework. The music, mostly consisting of classic and alternative rock but peppered with classical , hip-hop, rap, techno and dubstep ensembles (anything with a good beat, really), was the only thing that kept her sane most of the time. She felt like the ebb and flow of the sounds coupled with the sometimes profound, sometimes ridiculous lyrics, the thoughts of other people, righteously and wholly understood her. When she couldn't quite understand how she was feeling, or simply couldn't put it into words, music could.

" _Well..._ " she thought, undoing her seat belt and waiting for the end of the line to appear, " _This is it. No more foster homes. No more orphanages. You're doing this to give yourself a brighter future. So just get up and go already."_ Rolling her eyes at herself and flipping the long hair out of her face, she fixed the metal ring that ran through her septum and, finally, forced herself to stand and walk off the plane and into her new life.

####

Tetsuya had never really had plans for his life. All he had known was that he didn't want to continue on the path to being the Boss of his father's Yakuza Syndicate, the Sendo-Kai. His father led a ruthless bunch of men and didn't care what happened to anyone else so long as he benefited. That wasn't who he was, but considering getting out of the life of being a gangster was extremely hard as well as often-times dangerous, Tetsuya did what he felt was the easiest and safest plan for dodging his birthright and joined the Kasanoda-Gumi syndicate as a foot-man. His daily tasks were simple enough; clean and tidy the main house and serve as a companion and servant to the young lord that was in line for the position of boss when his father felt him ready. Or died. Whichever would come first. Likely the second, but who knows? Stranger things have happened than a gangster growing old and dying of natural causes.

Tetsuya quickly dodged a swinging hand, which was attached to the young lord in question as he tried to help him into his (somewhat) formal wear. Convincing the red-headed teenager to don a yukata was out of the question but he had at least gotten him to agree to nice jeans and a suave tux jacket over a white v-neck tee shirt. The young lord immediately made to roll up the sleeves to his elbows, but Tetsuya decided picking his battles was best for his physical well-being and left well-enough alone. He felt the casual way the clothing looked on him suited him far better than a traditional yukata, anyway. Had he been gay, the blond man might just have made a move at the slightly younger individual.

"I still can't believe this shit. Why the hell would he think it's a good idea to bring some girl here from America and force her to marry me? It's absurd!" Ritsu ranted on. Had Tetsuya not known the other man so well, he would have assumed that he was nervous, and maybe he was a little bit. But he knew most of the red-head's feelings stemmed from anger and embarrassment.

"Just give her a chance, my lord. She is, after all, only seventeen as well. You don't yet know her reasoning for accepting such an arrangement. It must be important to her. Things like this are common on this half of the world but in America, an arranged marriage is damn near taboo." He may not have finished school, but Tetsuya was well read in worldly dealings and other cultures. It all fascinated him dearly.

"I guess..." Ritsu continued to grumble as he made for the door. It was almost dinnertime and the mystery girl would be arriving at the house at any moment. Ritsu honestly would rather have stayed in his room all night reading, but he was a growing young lad and was feeling immensely hungry after constantly wailing on the punching bag that hung in the training garden for hours on end earlier in an attempt to let out some of his anger.

Tetsuya simply sighed again and went off to his own room that he shared with one of the other workers that lived in the house to get ready for dinner.

####

Ritsu heard voices get gradually louder as he trudged toward the dining room. Usually, everyone ate in their rooms or offices but every now and then, there would be a guest and the proverbial red carped would be laid out and the long table would be set. Tonight was the first time in over a year that Ritsu was even required to attend such a display, usually opting to eat outside as he absorbed the actions and emotions and literary devices that were inked into the many books he flew through effortlessly. He had approached Ouran's famed host club in an effort to learn how to make friends, but that did little to help him actually achieve that goal considering his loner nature. He had Tetsuya. That was enough for now. At least he had gained that.

"He arrives at last." Ritsu heard his father call out in an irritated tone when he finally rounded the corner, his has jammed into the front pockets of his jeans. "Our new addition to the family is in her room sorting out an outfit for herself. Flying almost 18 hours to be here with you has certainly taken a toll on her temporarily." The young lord rolled his eyes and mumbled a "whatever" as he took a seat on the cushioned pillow at the end of the table farthest from the mob-boss, not giving a damn if he came off as rude at the moment. The other three men in the room, those who had apparently traveled to America to find the poor girl (he remembered now wondering where they had disappeared to for two months half a year ago but had simply brushed it off. Boy did he feel stupid now.) would have scoffed at his insolence if they weren't so afraid of him. So be it. Usually he hated being feared, but at the moment, he didn't feel like dealing with anyone's shit.

####

Fixing the black satin bow in her faded blue hair, the girl checked herself in the full-length mirror that hung on the wall next to her door. Her new room wasn't huge, but it was far more space than she was used to having all to herself. A comfortable mattress sat on the ground against the far wall and there was a desk in the opposite corner. The closet was a walk-in with built in shelves and drawers, all of which were currently empty. She bit her lip as she thought that all of her clothes would fit in one drawer. She did, after all, only have the one duffle bag that held every belonging she had in her life at that point. It didn't matter, though. This was already more than she could ever have asked for.

Nodding her head in accepting satisfaction, she decided her skinny jeans, black flats and white and black polka-dotted blouse would just have to do. It was the dressiest thing she owned, out of all five of her outfits, and they would just have to accept that. She steeled her self in an fit of faux courage and walked out of the room, keeping her steps light and a small, nervous smile on her face. She didn't need her RBF giving them all the wrong idea about her. She was extremely grateful to be here and to be given the opportunities they are providing for her, even if it was at the cost of having to marry the head of the house's son to do so. She had never had any luck with men anyway, so this basically killed two birds with one stone.

Rounding the corner into the dining room she had seen earlier upon her arrival, she was met with the three men that had, in a sense, "recruited" her, an older balding man in traditional Japanese clothing, and the back of an extremely bright red head of hair, half of which was pulled into a ponytail and looked incredibly soft. The faceless attendee was leaning forward onto his hand, his elbow propped on the low-sitting table and she could hear him griping about something or another. She figured he wasn't exactly happy to be thrown into this situation. From what she understood, he had only been informed of the arrangement this morning. That had to be rough on the poor guy. He probably had a girlfriend that he could no longer be with because of her. She suddenly felt very sad and guilty for intruding into his life.

"My dear!" The older man called out to her. "It is wonderful to finally meet you. Please! Sit!" His hospitality was welcoming, already having been the warmest welcome she had ever experienced. She smiled and stepped around the teenage boy to approach the man and bowed slightly to him. Ever since she had been approached by the three other men, which now stood proudly off to the side, she had read very studiously about Japanese customs and put every waking minute of focus into learning the language. She was still a bit shaky on it, but had no doubt that she would get better now that she was among people who the language belonged to.

He smiled and bowed back and they all sat, the men at his left and her at his right. The teenager remained sitting throughout the exchange and stared down at his lap, causing her to not be able to see anything but the top of his glorious head of hair no matter how hard she tried.

"Well," the older man began, "First off, my dear, how do you pronounce your name? I do not want to mess it up and shame myself." She simply giggled to herself slightly and obliged him. "Daria, sir. Daria Engebretson. And yours?" Her language skills were not failing her yet, and that she was extremely thankful for, though the slight elevation in her pitch was not something she was used to. "My name is Lee-Fu Kasanoda. You may call me whatever you want, though, so long as you do so with kind intentions." He flashes a kind smile at her and she immediately reciprocates a nervous one, nodding once.

Just then, as if to save her from anything embarrassing that may or may not have happened, a barrage of men bustle into the spacious room and set plates and bowls full of delicious looking sauteed meats and vegetables and rice in front of them. A glass is quickly filled with what she assumes is water and placed within reach but obviously belonging to her and they all quickly file out as efficiently as they arrived. This is all very surreal to her. Before, if she wanted food, she would have to make it herself. And that was if she was allowed in the kitchen at all. Or the lunch ladies at the orphanages just slopped things onto a tray for her. She had no idea how to handle all of this fanciness.

"This is very good." She remarked between bites, trying to remember her very best manners and, for the most part, succeeding. The food was delicious and hot and, her favorite part, Asian. She absolutely adored Italian food and Indian food and even most American foods, but by far, Chinese and Japanese dishes were the best, in her opinion. And now she would get to eat them every day. Her head was beginning to spin from how excited and overwhelmed she was with such a huge change in her life. Just a day ago she was scraping peanut butter out of an almost empty jar and smearing it on a stale piece of bread and calling it lunch, and now she was a foreign American girl in the middle of Japan eating the best food she had ever had the pleasure of being within twenty feet of.

"My cook will be glad to hear your compliment. He is the best I have ever had. I don't know what we would all do without him." the older man, Lee-Fu, boasts, taking a large swig from his sake. "Anyway, as I have informed my son down at the end of the table there, once we are all finished eating, we will discuss the terms and conditions of this arrangement, sign a few documents, then we can all rest for the night. I am sure you are exhausted after such a long flight and being thrown off of your normal schedule by seven hours is not exactly something to sneeze at."

Daria replied with a meek "yes, sir", thankful that he was being so kind to her. She had also spent a great deal of time Googling Lee-Fu Kasanoda, boss of the yakuza syndicate Kasanoda-Gumi. She knew full well that she had agreed to come here and enter the home of a gang, marry the heir to the criminal organization, and yet, felt it was completely worth it if it meant she could go through a good school and one day become a good lawyer like she had always dreamed for herself.

Soon after, everyone had finished eating, even, surprisingly considering his surly attitude, the other teenager in the room. He hadn't left a single grain of rice in his bowl. Then again, just looking at how tall he was sitting down, he must eat a lot. Teenage boys were like black holes sometimes. Daria had observed many a time the boys at the orphanages eat everything in sight without even so much as a pause.

The people from earlier returned and cleared the table and a man, couldn't be more than twenty-two with bandages on his face and long blond hair swept haphazardly into a pony tail, brought a small stack of papers to sit in front of Lee-Fu. " _That must be the contract."_ She thought to herself as she readjusted her blouse and quickly glanced at the red head at the end of the table out of the corner of her eye. He seemed defeated, the way his shoulders slumped forward and he just stared at his lap still. Hopefully he wouldn't hold too immense a grudge against her. She really needed all of this to work out. She felt bad that he had to endure something he obviously wanted nothing to do with, but she _really_ needed to be better than her mother. She just _had_ to...

####

Ritsu fidgeted with the hem of his tee shirt in his lap and tried to take deep, even breaths. Anything to not look up at the absolutely stunning girl that was sitting next to his father. He had finally snuck a glance at her when he had finished eating and had temporarily lost his ability to breathe for a second. It was bad enough that the poor girl was being forced to put up with him for the rest of her life. He felt truly sorry for her, knowing that most people wanted nothing to do with a guy whose glare could make even the meanest of men flinch. But this girl was _gorgeous_. She had everything in the world going for her, could have any man she wanted with the snap of her fingers, and she was stuck with him. Just the boost his self-confidence needed. He sighed silently to himself and snuck another glance.

She was most definitely American. Her features suggested maybe mid-European descent, but were all so well blended that he couldn't put a finger on any one region. She had sparkling hazel eyes and a septum piercing which currently held a simple silver horseshoe ring. He couldn't help but think how elegant she made the piece of metal look, when it usually just made people look like a bull. His eyes swept over her fading blue hair that cascaded in choppy layers, the longest of which reached almost to the middle of her upper arm, but when she turned her head and surveyed her surroundings, he saw she had the left side of it shaved down to maybe a quarter of an inch and had what appeared to be a design in the shape of a heartbeat line shaved into it, reaching from her temple to where the long hair started. Her bangs framed her eyes and made them seem deep and mysterious, but her shy smile lit up the room and he wondered what it would look like if she really, truly smiled. He felt he might be blinded by its honest brilliance.

"Right!" the old man clapped, causing Ritsu to jump a little and look up suddenly. "Son, you're going to have to come over here. This _does_ concern you pretty heavily, after all." For a second, the red-head wondered where the small bit of confidence his father was exuding came from. Usually he was just as afraid of his son as everyone else was. Maybe it was the sake. The man had been drinking a lot of it lately, most likely in preparation of this. Wouldn't want to make himself look a fool.

Ritsu scoffed and hauled himself up to sit in the seat across from the girl, Daria, which had just been vacated by Gon. Gon was a middle aged man with one hell of a mug, but an OK personality. He had been one of the men to go to America, so Ritsu had been told, and now both teenagers sat right next to Lee-Fu. Gon and the other guy, Ritsu could never remember his name because he was never really around when the young lord was home and not in his room or outside sitting under a tree, bowed to his father and left the room and only the 39 year old weapons specialist, Koh, remained in the room with the three. Koh scooted from right by the young lord to one seat over, allowing himself a one-seat buffer between the two of them. It didn't bother Ritsu any. He was still pretty peeved at basically everyone but the girl in front of him, who he now, briefly, observed to have a small dimple in her left cheek and that she was lightly chewing on her bottom lip. He didn't blame her. He'd be nervous too if he were in her position.

"Alright. So what has happened here, basically, is that I sent men to America in search of a wife for you, Ritsu. You both know this. After about three weeks, I received a call saying they had found the perfect girl and that they were setting up the arrangements." Lee-Fu handed each of the teenagers a copy of the document that was in his hands. Each of their stacks now consisted of maybe twenty pages of single spaced, 11-point font. Ritsu groaned and Daria bit down harder on her lip.

"What this contract basically says is that you, Ritsu, will agree to wed and, subsequently, care for our dear Daria here to the best of your ability. And you, Daria, as discussed, will be put through proper schooling at the institution Ritsu attends, Ouran Academy, which has been given the highest recommendations and educational ratings in Japan, and you will also be put through post-secondary schooling and graduate schooling, as per your request, in exchange for giving your hand to my son." Ritsu's eyebrows shot up at this as he gazed at the seemingly shy girl across from him. " _So she's not as helpless as I thought. She made sure she got something out of this too. She's got some gumption in her. Well good. Better chance she will survive."_ He thought, leaning back slightly and flipping the page of his ridiculously long contract.

He listened to his father drone on about how Koh was now the legal parent of Daria, that being the only legal way to get the girl here from America, as she had apparently been found living in an orphanage (another detail Ritsu tucked away for future questioning, if he could ever get up the guts to actually talk to this strange enigma sitting across from him), and meaningless things about their future property rights and blah blah blah sign here, initial there, Ritsu didn't care. He was now officially bored, but Daria was absolutely absorbed into the words on the papers in front of her.

"And finally, you shall both remain faithful to each other. From this point on, you are both now engaged to be wed and, as such, it is expected of you both to remain devoted to each other in accordance with the vows you will both be making once Daria has turned eighteen years of age, which is to happen 10 months from this upcoming Thursday, so January 18th. The detail concerning the exact date of the wedding is something left up to you two to decide as a couple, so long as it happens within six months from her birthday. Should either of you be found to have committed an infidelity, the marriage will be annulled, Daria will be disowned and put out onto the street, left to her own devices, and Ritsu will be stripped of his birthright as heir to this syndicate." Both of the teenagers sighed and nodded their heads, initialing next to that section of the contract and signed the final line, swapping without looking at each other to sign and initial all required spaces on the opposing contracts and taking turns doing the same to Lee-Fu's copy while Lee-Fu and Koh signed all of the appropriate sections they were required to sign as the parents of the two minors.

Finally, it was all said and done and Ritsu quickly excused himself to go back to his room, clutching his copy of the contract and thinking about how the girl that had been in his home for less than four hours, with whom he had not exchanged any words whatsoever with, had given up her freedom to marry whoever she wanted just for the chance to gain a good education and that if either of them strayed from each other, she would be out on the streets in a completely different country than she had ever known. He didn't give a flying fuck if he became a mob-boss or not, but he decided, right then and there, that even though he did not yet know this woman, even if the two of them hated each other, he would only ever allow her to lose everything if it meant she had someone to help her pick up the pieces. Her finding someone and falling in love would be the only reason he would allow her to leave his side. Because he was just that tragic of a hero. _God he needed to stop reading so much shojou manga... It was really starting to screw with his personality..._

 _####_

Daria sighed and slipped into the hot shower she had just started. That dinner had been the most intense thing she had ever experienced. Between having to concentrate really hard on both what Lee-Fu _and_ the contract was saying (as both were in Japanese), making sure she kept a pleasant expression on her face and trying to calm her heart from stuttering every time she glanced at her newly betrothed, Ritsu, she had developed a killer migraine. She just wanted to stand under the hot water forever and let it beat down on her neck.

Ritsu hadn't been what she expected at all. She wasn't even sure _what_ she expected, but the man she sat across that table from as they both scribbled their names over and over again had definitely _not_ been it. She had pictured some short, skinny pale kid with normal black Japanese hair and basic-ass face. What she got, instead, was a tall, well built (she could tell under his tux jacket), red-head with an RBF that could rival her own on one of her bad days. That last detail actually made her feel a little bit better about herself.

Now, she wasn't the only one. Someone might actually understand the struggle she went through with everyone always thinking she was angry as hell just by looking at her face. Most people didn't think it was a problem, but those that _had_ it knew just how frustratingly isolating it was. And only they knew when they looked at other people afflicted by the inconvenient gene that it never meant just one thing. They could actually see that there were other emotions under an RBF.

She shook her head. She always went off on this weird spiel in her head about RBFs and how there should be support groups for people with them, even though it was clearly not as big an issue as, say, addiction or depression or anything of the like. But still, she found comfort in knowing she wasn't alone in that department anymore, and somehow, oddly, the man's mean looking face made him very, _very_ attractive to her. She was now even more happy that she had tried to pick Koh's pocket when she spotted him walking along the sidewalk in downtown Seattle. If she hadn't, he would have never noticed her and she wouldn't have this incredible opportunity for a real future or such an attractive partner. She had no knowledge of what this man was like, if he would hate her, resent her, or somehow grow to at least tolerate her presence in his life, but if all she got out of this was an education and a chance to look at the man, she would be able to die happy. " _Well that's dramatic. But oh well. I don't care right now. My head hurts too much to argue with myself."_

She stepped out of the now-cold shower, feeling refreshed if even only a little bit, and toweled herself off before wrapping her hair up. She performed the tedious duties associated with being a woman that just exited a shower, such as brushing her teeth and lotioning her newly shaved legs, before slipping on her ratty gray tee shirt and blue fluffy sleep-shorts and releasing her hair to be combed. She did all of this while humming the tune to Kansas' Dust in the Wind, which had been stuck in her head since her plane landed earlier that day, and exited the bathroom. The hallway was quiet, save for the sound of her bare feet padding along the floor and her humming, and she made it back to her room without incident. Now she could fall into her new bed and drift off to thoughts of violins and fleeting lives and a particular red-headed gangster-in-training.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

She couldn't sleep. She had been awake for nearly thirty hours in anticipation of her journey to her new life and once she had finally fallen asleep after dinner, she was only able to stay that way for a whopping four hours before her eyes shot open without a single glimmer of hope at closing anytime soon. She should have expected it, what with the time change and all. She was by no means a morning person, but over the last few years she had conditioned herself to wake up at nine every single morning, if not earlier. So there she was. Awake at nine am. Pacific Standard time. Her current geographical orientation, however, was just barely marching past the witching hour. She groaned.

Well if she couldn't sleep, she may as well do something productive and explore her new home a little bit. She couldn't open any doors, of course, for fear of waking up whoever may be sleeping on the other side, but she could venture hallways and open rooms and the grounds. Night was always the perfect time to get your bearings on a new landscape, she figured, because by the time the sun would have risen to bestow another day of life on the land, you would have already uncovered every creature lurking in the shadows, every mystery of what would lay underfoot in your next advancing step. Learning things in the dark allowed one to use all of their senses to commit it to memory, much the same way someone could learn their gun on a more intimate level if they disassembled and reassembled it blindfolded.

Yes. She would explore.

The house itself was rather large. It was by no means a mansion, but enough to be recognized as the main house of the estate. From her current understanding, there were three other structures on the property beside the one she currently lurked around in, pretending to be a secret agent in a Mission Impossible-type situation. There was a house where most of the residents lived together that had its own kitchen and facilities, a recreational house where there was a gym/dojo and, to her extreme delight, a sauna, and a temple where the residents could feel free to go and meditate or pray or whatever suited their spiritual needs. She had been surprised when her research had informed her that yakuza members were usually very spiritual, much in the same way most American and Italian gangsters were very serious about being Catholic.

The main house, though, only housed Lee-Fu and his right-hand men, the main cook, Ritsu, Ritsu's attendant (who she assumed could only be the blond man from earlier that night), and now herself. This house held its own, as she could see now that she had reached it, _massive_ kitchen, multiple meeting rooms where business matters were held, the dining room, a small library, and enough bedrooms for every person that resided there as well as plenty to put up a few guests, should any stay for a night or two. Considering the assumed number of about maybe seventy-ish-odd men that resided on the grounds and that this was obviously the main headquarters for the crime organization's dealings, she decided that it was well enough. It was entirely more room than she could ever want or need at any point in her life, but the space had multiple functions.

Once she was done sneaking around the kitchen and gaining as much tactile memory as she could of the different surfaces and implements as she could lay her hands on, she ventured out of the back door and discovered it lead directly to the garden outside. In the bright, full moonlight she could see that it was immaculately landscaped and flowed in a very visually appealing way, guiding her to the left and compelling her to walk along a very organically shaped path underneath some overhanging cherry blossom trees. About ten minutes later, (it couldn't have been that long of a trip considering how small the property was. She was just taking her time absorbing everything in sight) the path delivered her to another garden which was very zen in its layout but contained what was obviously an obstacle course and a punching bag off to the side. She found it interesting that there was an indoor gym already, but here, outside in this serene landscape, was another. It made sense, she supposed, considering the activities these people (all she had seen was men, but she did not want to assume anything) participated in. It was only logical that physically training and honing their bodies was a top priority.

She lazily meandered around the garden, memorizing the way the shadows danced as a very slight breeze whispered over everything. The moon seemed to brighten even more as the minutes stretched on and she could see a few fireflies flitting around off in the distance. It was very calm. She liked it. She was not used to calm. The life her mother lead never seemed to rest, no matter the time of day. Scavenging for food during the day and looking for a place to sleep and do drugs and whore around at night didn't exactly provide a moment of peace. And it didn't matter if she was in a foster home or an orphanage, there was always at least a handful of people around her at all times, most of which were kids, which meant that at least one person was always wreaking some kind of havoc. Here, though, in this empty and well-planned garden, beneath the honest light of the moon, she could really hear herself think.

Before she knew it, she had looped all the way around and begun to follow a new path leading back to where she came from. The two paths, she realized, outlined a patch of earth that housed a thick mini-forest of bamboo that sat in a perfect circle. For a moment, she wondered what else lay in there, but pushed the thought away, deciding that there could be any number of creatures sleeping in the small sanctuary and didn't feel it appropriate to disturb them.

When she finally reached the main house, she entered the way she had exited and made her way, expertly now, through the large kitchen and back to her room. Satisfied with her venture, she decided to change her clothes. A glance at the clock on her wall informed her that she had somehow spent three and a half hours exploring and felt energized enough to take to the gym and work out for a little while. The sun would be up soon, but by then she would be lost in the rhythm of all of her favorite upbeat songs and breathing through the most pleasant burning sensations her muscles ever experienced. Exercise helped center her mind, and adjusting to this new life would definitely require her to be centered.

####

Ritsu woke up with a headache. The events of yesterday mixed with the fact that he had tossed and turned for the better part of the night made for a very poor rest experience. Luckily, school wasn't supposed to resume for another week or so, which gave him time to adjust before having to deal with his educational obligations on top of everything.

After rolling around and growling to himself for a good twenty minutes, he decided he needed coffee. Maybe caffeine would dull the pounding in his skull. One step at a time, he slowly hauled himself out of bed, trudged over to the closet and pulled a shirt on. He would usually just walk out in nothing but his sleep-pants, but he wasn't sure how living with a female worked and used nearly all of his current brain capacity to decide being safe was better than being sorry and embarrassing his dumb ass so early in the morning. It was only, what, nine? It couldn't have been any later than that considering the angle the sun was blazing in through his curtains. He hated mornings.

Still half asleep and clutching his head as if he were severely hung over, the teenager stumbled across the house and into the kitchen, making a bee-line for the coffee maker. Most of the morons he knew at his school didn't know how simple appliances worked, but he was well-versed in the ways of the Mr. Coffee. This particular model made the standard sized pot and once it was finally done pain-stakingly slowly brewing the nearly medicinal liquid, he poured himself a huge mug full and sipped from it greedily. It tasted awful and it was burning his mouth, but he didn't care so long as the damn pounding in his temples would subside even just a little bit. He had downed half the pot before deciding he wanted to take a shower. Hot water massaging his shoulders might help too. Anything to get the pain to stop.

He didn't get very far, however, before bumping into a rather firm body, atop of which sat faded blue hair pulled up into a bun. Blinking rapidly to try and wake himself up a little bit, he couldn't help but take in her appearance. She had a towel draped over her shoulders and had been in the middle of wiping off her damp forehead. Her cheeks were flushed as if she had been running or something and a single ear bud hung from her head, the other obviously having been smashed or suffered some similar fate, as it hung down and in pieces.

"I, uh, I..." Ritsu sputtered, having been caught off guard. He was definitely not ready for any kind of human interaction, much less with the newest, strangest addition to his life. "Oh, I'm sorry! I wasn't watching where I was going. Please forgive me." She countered, momentarily forgetting that she was supposed to speak in Japanese. The red-head furrowed his eyebrows at her, only recognizing a few of the words from his time spent in English Language classes at Ouran. This caused her to quickly flush a bright red and back-pedal, repeating the sentence in shaky, oddly-accented Japanese as she pulled the one working ear bud from her ear. He began to rub the back of his neck and she bit her lip as they looked at each other, assessing. She was wearing yoga capris and a tee shirt that had been cut down the sides so that it showed her waist. Ritsu flushed bright red at realizing he was gazing a little too long at the skin between her sports bra and the band of her pants and forced himself to look elsewhere. The shirt itself read off English words, which Ritsu could only assume was the name of a band, and the body it was currently attached to was fumbling with a nearly broken mp3 player. Her skin was shiny with sweat, leading him to conclude that she had just been utilizing the gym in the other building.

"Um, anyway..." The girl mumbled, before sighing to herself and shoving her right hand out in front of her in a gesture Ritsu's befuddled mind somehow made sense of. "I'm Daria. It's nice to meet you." He slowly slipped his hand into hers and shook it slightly, nodding once. "Ritsu." was his only reply as he returned his hand to his side, the sound of his voice deep, as usual, and scratchy from not having been used yet that day. They both stood there in an extremely awkward silence before nodding and making noncommittal excuses and headed off into different directions, her to the kitchen and him to his room to grab clothes and disappear into the bathroom.

####

A week went by. Ritsu spent it in his room, mostly. He chose to read through the books that were stacked on the corner of his desk rather than venture out and risk making himself look like a fool in front of Daria again. He was very ill-equipped when it came to talking to women. Hell, he was ill-equipped when it came to talking to _anyone_ , considering everyone avoided him in attempt to save themselves from his temper and his harsh face. The biggest stride he had ever made in the area of socialization was his adventure as a guest of the host club, and that hadn't exactly gone smoothly. Especially once he discovered Haruhi was, in fact, _not_ a male host. He was just a bumbling mess of nerves and awkward gestures.

Eventually, however, he _had_ to leave his room, be it for food or to visit the bathroom. He looked left, he looked right, then he almost smacked himself in the face when he realized he hadn't even opened his door yet. He was checking to see if the coast was clear in his own room. He needed to get a grip. He was losing it. With a sigh, he pulled the door open and strode from his room, just in time to glance down the hallway and see Daria was also exiting her room. He hadn't realized her quarters were so close to his. She was so _close._ And she was, ever so softly, singing. For a moment, he was frozen to the spot, watching intently as she bobbed her head to the music pumping through her one good ear bud, her eyes closed, and English lyrics flowed from her mouth in a hypnotizing melody.

Randomly, she spun completely around on her heel with her arms flung wide before planting herself and playing an imaginary guitar very vehemently. His mouth quirked up in extreme amusement at her antics and he leaned against his door frame, crossing his arms as he continued to watch her. She kicked a leg out and began to hop around on one foot while vocalizing what could only be an epic guitar solo and swinging her head back and forth before accidentally ramming her body into the wall she had inched toward, causing her to fall back in an exaggerated flailing motion and roll a few feet, all the while letting out a high-pitched yelp.

"Oh shit! Are you OK?!" He was at her side in an instant, checking her for any injuries she may have sustained in the fall before gingerly placing a hand on her upper arm to help guide her into a sitting position. "Yeah! Yeah, I'm fine!" She chirped. "It happens all the time, really. I'm good. May have a concussion, but I'll walk it off." He was stunned for a second before a loud laugh fell from his mouth. The seconds stretched on, only causing his laughter to grow in volume and length. He was clutching his stomach and trying to remain in an upright position before she began to chuckle along with him, rubbing her head simultaneously.

She gazed up at him, admiring the way his eyes squeezed shut and his lips stretched as far as they could with his smile. His face was not in the least bit scary to her, especially not in the way she heard the men speak of when she was roaming the grounds every day in search of something to do, and right now he simply appeared to her an extremely happy teenage boy without a care in the world.

"Well, I'm glad my clumsiness amuses you." She breathed out, smiling up at the red-head. His laughter simmered down to a manly giggle as he sat back and looked up at her, still smiling brilliantly and blushing slightly. "Well it's hard not to be amused by what I just saw." He countered. They fell into a companionable silence, looking at each other, he at her face and her at his well-defined arms that were on display thanks to the muscle tank he wore. She could only imagine what the rest of him looked like if his arms looked like that. She licked her lips and forced herself to look into his eyes. They were a deep brown with what appeared to be flecks of caramel coloring in them, framed by thick lashes. They were beautiful.

Her staring made him feel a little self conscious and he moved his hand up to rub the back of his neck, looking anywhere but at her and grumbling to himself wondering where everyone was. He hadn't seen anyone since he got himself dinner last night and even then had only seen the cook and Tetsuya. The inquiry perked Daria up though, and she eagerly informed him that everyone was with his father tending to business across town, with the exception of the cook and the "blond guy that seemed to enjoy sweeping the walkway out front more than anything in the world." This sent Ritsu into another bout of laughter, never having really thought about how much his companion seemed to obsessively sweep.

"That's Tetsuya." Was his only reply through his boisterous laughter. This made Daria grin up at him, a gesture that caught Ritsu off guard. Her smile conveyed nothing but happiness and no fear whatsoever. The only person that had ever smiled at him like that was Haruhi. He was left speechless for a second, his heartbeat picking up the pace quickly. It took a minute for Daria to break the silence that had settled so abruptly over them.

"Anywho, your father apparently thinks that my closet is too empty and has ordered me to go shopping. The problem with that being 1) I have no idea where a mall is and 2) I've never been shopping before in my life. So would you like to accompany me?"

"Uhhhh... Um..." Ritsu didn't know what to say. He had never really gone shopping before either. The men under his father's command usually just picked up whatever he needed and delivered it straight to his room. And weren't shopping trips with girls supposed to be boring and awful for guys? And he barely knew her! But he was supposed to get to know her. How had she never been shopping before? Don't girls love shopping? Wait, she was in an orphanage. Are orphans not allowed to shop in America? What kind of country was that? Were orphans in Japan allowed to shop? God, he knew nothing about anything. He was a complete invalid! Oh jeez. She was looking at him. He was being weird, arguing with himself in his head.

"You don't have to." She continued awkwardly after a minute. "I just figured it would be nice to have some company. But you seem to enjoy being on your own so I guess that was pretty pointless. Sorry."

"No, wait." His deep voice interrupted her, his face flushing red as he panicked in his own mind wondering exactly what his mouth was doing. "I uh... I'd love to go... Shopping... With you..." At this she beamed brightly up at him and thanked him, shooting up and back into her room to get ready to go, leaving him dumbfounded still in the hallway floor wondering _what in the hell just happened._

 _####_

Twenty minutes later, Daria was still perched outside Ritsu's door waiting on him. It had only taken her all of five minutes to pull on her skinny jeans, black tank top and plain gray pullover hoodie, her lone pair of flats (her only pair of shoes at all at that point), and pull her hair into a loose braid that hung over her right shoulder. It had taken a few minutes after that to scrape up enough mascara out of the cheap tube to make her eyelashes look uniformly darkened, but still she waited on the boy ( _her fiance_ , she reminded herself) to finish getting ready to leave. She could hear two voices in his room and assumed the other was Tetsuya as she fingered the thin wallet in her hoodie pocket, its contents consisting of nothing more than her ID, a photo of her mom in a hospital bed when she was fifteen, exhausted and holding a brand new baby, and the shiny platinum credit card Lee-Fu had thrust at her with decided finality.

"Spend as much as you need to." He told her. "Just be sure you get yourself a full wardrobe and anything else you may want. I can't have my future daughter-in-law living like a street rat. Not in my home." He had reminded her to get a uniform for school, and asked her to get at least one kimono and two "dressy" outfits for formal occasions she may be required to attend, but other than that had set no guidelines for anything else she bought. The whole situation was surreal to her. With her mom, they simply frequented homeless centers that provided them with clothing that was outdated, old, worn and free in order to dress themselves. Under the care of Child Protective Services of Washington, she was only provided with clothing if her wardrobe dropped below two shirts and two pairs of pants. Her underwear usually had holes in them, and she only ever had the one hoodie, which had somehow survived the nine years she had been in the system and now finally fitted her as she had grown into it. She absentmindedly traced a barely visible stain where she had dropped a french fry from McDonald's onto it a few years ago.

" _How much money does this man have if he is willing to adopt a girl into his family then just hand her a credit card and tell her to go crazy?"_ Sure, she recognized that successful crime organizations were usually pretty profitable, but they usually guarded every last dollar very heavily. At least, that's what she had observed watching movies like the Untouchables and the God Father over the years. " _Maybe this is just a one time thing to try and gain my trust while simultaneously making sure I have enough clothes to not make him look bad._ " She understood that her current clothing was far from impressive. It was all stained, all had holes in it at least _somewhere_ , and it was very limited in number.

Suddenly the door to Ritsu's room flung open and he shot out, griping under his breath what she thought sounded along the lines of "I don't know anything about taking a woman shopping." and she momentarily pondered his loner tendencies and his RBF, concluding that, coupled with his societal status, he must not get to hang out with many women. It was a shame, really. He was quite handsome and seemed to be very nice, from what she had seen (their initial meeting aside).

Ritsu spotted her standing next to the door and quieted down instantly, moving to allow Tetsuya to exit his room behind him. "Ready?" She asked. He simply nodded and motioned a gesture suggesting ladies first. She gave a curt nod and headed down the hallway and around the corner in pursuit of the front door.

"Don't worry, my lord. You'll be fine. You said yourself that she mentioned not going shopping before, so I can't imagine it will be a very painful experience." The blond offered, trying to assure his quasi-master. Ritsu thought this over before nodding and muttering that he was right. He thanked the other man and followed after the blue-haired girl, adjusting the tee shirt he had pulled on to accompany his simple jeans and sneakers, grabbing a light leather jacket on the way out the door.

"So which way do we go?" Daria asked him once he had finally caught up to her. "Oh uh... Tetsuya found someone to drive us to the mall." He replied just in time for a sleek black car to roll up in front of them. He usually preferred walking places, as he did when he went to school, but the mall was a bit further and he didn't think it would be very fun to have to walk back with a bunch of bags.

####

A silent half hour later, the two teenagers were climbing out of the car and heading toward the front entrance of the mall. They both looked around in wonder, neither having very much experience in visiting such a place, and walked just a little bit closer to each other. "Jeez where do we start?" She asked aloud, only earning a shrug from her companion. She hummed in thought as she walked up to a vendor at a kiosk ahead of them and asked where she might be able to purchase a kimono. They pointed her in a direction leading upstairs and she thanked them while leading Ritsu away.

That whole experience was rather quick and strange. Once they had found the store the vendor told them about, a perky sales woman had descended upon the girl. Within ten minutes, Daria had been measured and, after informing the woman of her preferred color schemes, been handed a beautiful package that contained a light green and turquoise kimono with gold embroidering fitting her size exactly, a miracle considering Daria was seven inches taller than the average height of a typical Japanese woman. Being five foot seven in a country where the average woman was only five feet tall was very strange, but Ritsu's stature at five foot ten was almost as daunting, the average for men being five foot five, so she didn't exactly care. It wasn't like he was shorter than her. That would have been a weird adjustment for her to have to get used to. The shortest man she had ever seen in America was her height.

It took mere seconds for her to pay the woman and for them to exit the fancy store. "So where to now?" his deep voice asked her, and for a moment she marveled at how attractive it sounded. "Um well your father wanted me to get some formal clothes, so I guess one more super fancy store before I can hunt down a Hot Topic or something." She chewed on her lip. Ritsu had no idea what a Hot Topic was, but simply nodded and followed her lead.

This venture took slightly longer, as she had to actually try on the clothes she was considering. Add to that the fact that she was indeed very tall for a woman in this region and her chest was _much_ larger than most womens (something Ritsu had noticed with _great_ embarrassment, having caught himself staring when she pulled her hoodie off), finding formal wear was not very easy. Eventually, though, after wandering into a more western-styled store, she found a black, strapless satin cocktail dress that fitted her upper body like a glove and flared out at her hips to reach her knees. She also bought a floor-length red chenille gown that sparkled and had mesh-type long sleeves and paid quickly. Ritsu had opted to stay outside the store for this venture, sipping the soda he had bought from a vending machine on the way there, and when she finally made her way over to him he peered at the new bag in her hands.

"Did you find what you needed?" He questioned. "Yeah. Now I just need a new pair of flats to wear with them but I don't know where the she store is. Are there not any Payless stores in Japan?"

"I honestly have no idea. I don't get out much." She simply nodded in response and walked over to pore over a directory. It took a good few minutes to locate a shoe store that suited her fancy, meaning of course one that didn't sell the cheapest item in its inventory for the price of an arm and a leg.

"You know, I don't think my old man would care if you bought something a little pricier. He _did_ tell you to go wild, after all." Ritsu commented as he stood watching her look through all the boxes of shoes against the wall. "I know. But that's no reason to take advantage of his kindness. And besides, what we are looking at right now is already so much more than I'm used to. Hell, I'd be fine with a simple six-pack of Hanes tee shirts and a pair of flip flops. I'm only getting all this crap because he told me to." She spoke in a manner that suggested she was only paying half-attention to her response and it made Ritsu ponder the words themselves. Sure, he was a pretty low-maintenance person, but weren't girls supposed to be clothes crazy? His father certainly had found him an interesting individual to be his other half.

"I'm hungry. How about you?" She asked as she pulled a box down and headed to the register. She was nothing if not efficient. Glancing at the lock screen on his phone, Ritsu was surprised to find it was only just coming up on one in the afternoon. They had only been here an hour and a half and she had already found the formal wear his father asked her to purchase and she was already checking out with a pair of new flats and a pair of combat boots. An interesting mix, to be sure.

"Yeah, I could eat. What are you in the mood for?" She seemed to think very intently on this question as she thanked the cashier and headed for the door. "I honestly would kill for a good burger right now." A burger? What was a burger? " _It must be an American thing._ " He concluded. "Well lead the way. Today _is_ all about you, after all."

"Thank you, by the way. I'm sure you would rather be doing something else with your time than escorting me around." This caught Ritsu off guard. "Um... Well I mean, it's no big deal. This is nowhere near the horror stories I've heard of guys being drug around for hours on end and forced to hold purses. And besides, if we are stuck with each other, I better get used to it."

####

"I'm sorry." Was her only reply to that. She felt him stop walking and stare at the back of her head. She could almost feel the look of utter confusion on his face as she turned to face him with a look of her own. "What do you mean, you're sorry?" He asked her quietly.

"I mean exactly that. You said it yourself, we are stuck together. Sure, if I hadn't said yes, Koh would have just found someone else for you, but who knows if they would have been a better fit for you? Someone prettier, someone smarter, someone you could actually enjoy spending your life with? I simply mean I am sorry you are stuck with me. This was the only option I could see to give myself a better life, and I did not consider that I would be taking advantage of someone to do so. I hope you can forgive me some day." As she spoke, Ritsu couldn't help but notice the sad tone that took over her voice and the way she grabbed her left elbow with her right hand. Or the way she bit her lip and looked anywhere but at him.

"Hey. Don't be sorry." He offered. She glanced at him curiously, earning her a shrug in return as he shoved his fists in his pockets. "Koh also could have decided on a complete bitch with the personality of a wet sock. I could definitely do worse than a nice girl with blue hair that runs into walls and tries not to take advantage of the people around her." That last comment made Daria blush and giggle as she reached up and shoved his shoulder in a playful manner. He chuckled back and nodded at the food area ahead of them.

"So what exactly is a burger, anyway? I assume its American?" She blanched at this. "YOU'VE NEVER HAD A HAMBURGER?!" Her shriek made his eyes widen in surprise and he quickly tried to assess if he needed a hearing aide. Everyone around them were now staring in their direction and he blushed the deepest red she had seen on him yet. "Um... No?" She didn't say another word as she grabbed his hand and yanked him forward, the three shopping bags flopping around as she nearly ran to the food court in search of a burger joint. Even _McDonald's_ would do at this point.

####

Hamburgers were the greatest thing Ritsu had ever eaten. That was it. Game over. How in the hell had he never had one of these things before? They were genius! He didn't even know what all was on this delicious sandwich thing he was quickly devouring but he was so thankful it all existed together. He really needed to learn how to cook. He loved food way too much to continue being ignorant about it. Daria simply sat and watched him in amusement while she nibbled on her simple bacon cheeseburger, occasionally eating a fry or two and sipping her soda. She had never seen someone eat a Big Mac with such gusto before. It was rather endearing.

He finished quickly and sat back in his seat, feeling satisfied, when Daria began to giggle at him. "What?" She was always smiling at him and giggling, for any variety of reasons. The only time she wasn't smiling at him was when she was busy concentrating on something, in which case a rather bored, angry look settled on her face. It had surprised Ritsu, to say the least. Her expression nearly rivaled his own, but he got the feeling she didn't even notice she was glaring at everything.

"You have some Mac Sauce on your face there, hun." Ritsu's heart sped up considerably when she began to lean forward across the table and wiped a spot near his mouth with her thumb, then proceeded to _lick the sauce off of her finger._ Lord, he had only known her a week, had only spent a total of six hours with her all together, and he felt she was going to give him a heart attack. He didn't understand these feelings he was experiencing because of her. Well... he understood one feeling. He was seventeen, after all, and her eyes and now that tongue of hers was causing it to happen again.

He shifted awkwardly in his seat, _sure_ that everyone in the immediate vicinity knew what was happening under the table.

"So the store I want to go to is on the other side of the mall. Did you have anywhere you wanted to go?" Her question shook him out of his raging-hormone clouded mind and forced him back to reality. He was going to be doing something very inappropriate with his alone time tonight if he had any chance of maintaining a normal aura around this woman. "Uh yeah, I think. Did you see anywhere that sold books?" She nodded affirmatively as she stood up to throw her trash away, pausing when she didn't see him move. "Well are you coming?" She asked, and he couldn't help but notice how her right eyebrow quirked up and her eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Yeah, I-I'll be right there. Just give me a second." He stammered out, reaching for his drink nervously. This caused her to just smile and say OK and walk away.

####

Two interesting things Daria had observed about her companion were that he loved books, and he for some reason loved books about flowers and vegetables. She made a mental note to ask him about the second portion of that observation later, but for now contented herself with the fact that he had a small smile on his otherwise angry looking face. _"I wonder if he realizes he glares at everything. He probably doesn't. But maybe no one has ever told him._ " She mused to herself.

"Hey, Ritsu?" she asked gently. "Hm?" "Do you dye your hair, or is that its natural color?" He glanced at her confusedly. "Uh, this is just my hair color. My moms hair looked like this too."

"May I touch it?" At this, he stopped and stared at her, blushing and looking at her very, very oddly. "Um, why?" "Because I want to see how soft it is. Duh."

"Sure..." He was obviously not very sure of his decision, but nonetheless she stepped toward him and reached up, running her fingers through his brightly-colored locks. To her delight, his hair was, indeed, _very_ soft, causing her to grin as if she were seeing the sun shine for the first time. "You..." He started, staring at her expression as she added her other hand to the mix, her purchases resting on the floor next to her feet. He had offered to carry the bags for her, but she insisted that she carry them herself, seeming put out by the offer. According to her, there was nothing physically hindering her from carrying them herself, and therefore there was no reason for him to burden himself with it. She had then gone on to explain that men could be just as good at being motherly figures and women could be mechanics and that women should stick up for men when they are being harassed just like men should stick up for women in that situation and then digressed into mutterings about how feminism was being portrayed incorrectly by extremist men haters.

####

"Yes?" She prompted, bringing him out of his thoughts. She was the only person he could think of that would do that; interrupt him when he was thinking about something. Everyone else waited until he was done, but sometimes that took quite a while. Daria, though... She seemed to always know when his thoughts were leading somewhere trivial and brought him back to reality. "You aren't afraid of me one bit."

At this, she snorted. Actually snorted, like a pig. It was a very strange sound and immediately led into her giggling at him and stepping away. "Why in the world would I be afraid of you? You've been nothing but kind to me despite our circumstances." Her questioning look was endearing and she seemed genuinely concerned that he would ever think she was afraid of him. As if the mere idea was absolutely absurd. "Because-because of my face. _Everyone_ is afraid of my face."

"Well that's stupid. Just because you have an RBF doesn't mean you're scary. From what I've seen, you're the human equivalent to a marshmallow."

"An RBF? What the hell is an RBF?" This conversation was getting stranger and stranger by the second, and Ritsu wasn't sure if he could keep up. "A resting bitch face. You know, when your face just naturally sits in a way that makes it look like you're angry about something. Don't tell me you've never heard of that before. Even I have one. _Lots_ of people have RBFs. It's like... a thing."

"I honestly can't believe you have a term for the fact that my face scares off everyone that looks at me."

"Well, not everyone, obviously. I fucking hate that people with RBFs get treated like you do. You're nothing but nice, from what I've seen, and you're really quite handsome. Fuck 'em. If people can't appreciate you just because they're sensitive little pussies, then they aren't people you need to concern yourself with." Ritsu's eyebrows shot up at her crass language and stood, dumbfounded as she turned on her heel and strode off in the direction of the store she wanted to go to, not moving until she motioned for him to follow her.

" _I think I may be in love. My father is a miracle worker."_


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Later that night, Daria busied herself folding and hanging all of her new purchases. Once she had finally located a Hot Topic, the shopping trip became extremely fun for her. Ritsu had simply stood back and laughed at her as she looked around the store with overwhelming amazement. There was merch for _every_ band she liked and even for every cartoon she had ever seen. She was like a kid in a candy store.

Taking inventory, she counted twenty three tee shirts, all of which advertised a different band or cartoon (her favorites were Courage the Cowardly Dog and Journey. She already knew she would wear those more than anything else), three pairs of jeans, two short Gothic style skirts, two new hoodies (One was Captain America, and the other was The Winter Soldier, her top two pieces of eye candy), and a jean jacket that had sweatshirt material as a hood and the sleeves. She also splurged and got herself a brand-spanking-new pair of headphones _and_ a new pair of ear buds, a box of deep-aqua hair dye, a studded belt and some basic makeup items to replace her three year old, practically empty tube of mascara. She had also gotten Ritsu a present, partially as a thank you for going along with her, and partially because it was just too perfect _not_ to get it for him, and when he wasn't looking, she slipped the "Judge Me Not By My RBF" tee shirt into his book store bag.

Her next stop had been to a lingerie store (because God forbid that swanky ass mall had a simple Sears), where she pain-stakingly, hurriedly purchased about fifteen pairs of underwear in various styles and three new bras. Once she exited the store, she had to hunt down Ritsu and found him down the way and around the corner, seemingly having heart palpitations at the thought of going near a womens undergarment store. He had had a hard time looking at her for a little while after that.

Lastly, before they finally headed home, they stopped and picked up two sets of her new school uniform, which, to her displeasure, turned out to be a rather ghastly yellow dress. It truly was ugly. Gazing at it now, though, it wasn't that bad. The moment they had gotten home, Daria had attacked the dresses, altering them so that the sleeves were no longer poofy and the skirt didn't make her look like Belle from Beauty and the Beast. She even ran them through the wash with some vinegar and salt and a little bleach, and to her delight, the color had faded from looking like Lady Gaga's hair to a very calm, pale yellow, something that actually complimented her complexion and hair color rather than making her look a hot mess. If anyone asked, she would simply say that it fit her differently because of her body type or some other bullshit like that, because there was no way in hell she was going to school looking like a pile of banana. Why such a prestigious institution insisted its female students wear such a garment was beyond her.

She glanced back over her schedule and the school map, trying like hell to commit both to memory. She had gone and taken the entrance exam the day before, and received all of the necessary documents today before they had even set out on their little excursion informing her that she had tested into the second year class D, so she would be with Ritsu. She was grateful she would be with someone she knew, but irritated at the classist nature of it all. She was used to going to public schools that placed you based on your academic standing, not your social one. God she hated rich people...

Despite that little detail, she was rather happy with her courses; Japanese History, German, Advanced Chemistry, Calculus, Literature, Phys Ed and International Law. She would have rather taken a Sign Language class to try and hone the language she had picked up on when she lived in a foster home that had a deaf ten year old in it, but Ouran didn't offer courses like that. The administrator she had met with after her exam, however, took the suggestion and said he would propose it at the next quarterly meeting, so she felt accomplished in that.

A quick glance at the timer told her that her hair color had about ten minutes left before she needed to wash it out and decided she suddenly desperately needed a glass of water, so she carefully hopped around all of the shopping bags on her floor to her door and made to leave, only to find a very surprised Tetsuya on the other side of her door, fist raised to knock, and she immediately fell back onto her ass in surprise.

"Do you fall over often?" He asked her simply. "Yes. Yes I do." Her forward reply had him laughing heartily at her for a moment before reaching down to help her up. "I came to ask if you would be walking to school with the young lord or if I need to inform a driver to be prepared in the morning."

"Oh, I'll walk. No need to wake anyone up for such a menial task." She reached up to make sure the clip in her hair was secure and smiled at the blond. He smiled back and backed away, allowing her to exit the room. "Please know that it's no trouble. We all take great pleasure in serving the Kasanoda family." _The Kasanoda Family._ Oh, right. She was one of them now. Or at least she would be within the next year and a half. She recovered quickly and thanked the young man, wishing him a good evening and heading in pursuit of the kitchen.

####

"Hey, Ritsu? Who are those people hiding in the bushes?" Ritsu turned his head in the direction she was indicating, trying to figure out what she was talking about. They had just walked onto school grounds and so far, everyone was staring at them. He was by no means a topic of interest, but add a girl walking with him and suddenly no one could seem to pay attention to anything else. It was really quite irritating so early in the morning. Movement caught his eye and, indeed, he spied three heads of hair in a bush off to their right. Two were red, one was golden blond... " _Oh no..._ "

####

"Bossanova!" Suddenly a small body launched at Ritsu from behind, attaching itself around his neck and squeezing the dear life out of him as he flailed and tried to throw it off. "Mitsukuni, no." Daria watched in amusement as a very tall, deep-voiced guy peeled the child-sized person off of Ritsu, allowing him to gasp air back into his lungs like an asthmatic under attack. "Who's the girl Bossanova? Huh? Is she your girlfriend?!" The child was very energetic as he crawled all over the giant like a spider monkey before settling on his shoulders.

"Yes, Bossanova, who is this divine specimen?" The blond from the bushes suddenly appeared out of nowhere, grabbing Daria and dipping her, speaking around a rose he had trapped between his teeth. Without a moment of hesitation, Daria poked him in the eye, causing him to scream like a little girl. This of course made Daria drop to the ground, dying of laughter. " _Oh my God, he sounds just like Chris Tucker in the Fifth Element what the hell!_ " Daria became vaguely aware of a pair of twin red-heads, also bush-people, rolling next to her and laughing like that was the funniest thing they had ever seen.

"Tamaki-senpai, you really need to learn not to touch girls without their permission." A small brunette stood next to the giant, tsking at the blond, who had somehow become black and white and conjured a cloud that rained only on him. " _Hey, wait a second..."_ "Hey! Why the hell do I have to wear this stupid ass dress if she gets to wear a suit?" Suddenly all eyes were on Daria, making her take a step back, preparing to run if anyone attacked.

"HOW DID YOU FIGURE THAT OUT?!" In a flash, Tamaki was shaking her by the shoulders screaming at her demanding to know if she was a spy or something, and right when she was about to jab him in the other eye, a bespectacled boy with neatly trimmed hair showed up right next to them, pulling the oaf off of her and reprimanding him for his unruly behavior. "Yeah, how did you know Haruhi was a girl?" Ritsu asked, suddenly standing next to her, rubbing his neck in an attempt to soothe the ache from his pint-sized assailant.

"You all can't be serious, right? Do you even know what a girl looks like?" Daria walked over to the small brunette, gesturing to her face. "Definition in her cheekbones." She lowered her hand a bit. "The muscle formation of her shoulders." Even lower. "This jacket does a pretty good job of hiding it, but even I can see boobs." At this, Tamaki screamed and withered away to nothing temporarily while everyone else looked at her like she was some kind of mad genius.

"Well, I must say, our new transfer student is quite observant." Glasses commented dryly, whipping out a black notebook and scribbling something down quickly while the oompa-loompa climbed down and attached himself to Daria's leg. "Ritsu, can you please tell me who your friends are before my brain explodes?"

"Uh, yeah. This is the Host Club-" He began before he was, very dramatically, interrupted by Tamaki. "THE HOST CLUB! Chivalry incarnate, the most beautiful and-OOF!" Daria quickly delivered a swift karate-chop to the drama king's stomach. "Down boy. Adults are talking. Wait your turn." Her words made him once again summon his cloud.

"Wow. Three times in less than ten minutes. This girl just set a new record." She heard the twins whisper to each other, and she assumed they were talking about the emo moments the blond kept having. "Anyway." She said, turning back to her companion. "Ritsu? Your friends?" He was still reeling over the fact that not only did the blue-haired girl seem immune to the Host Club King's charm, but she had basically put him in time out. "Erm... Like I said. They're the Host Club. They spend their time entertaining the girls here for money."

"Like, entertaining, or _entertaining?_ " She made air quotes around the repeated word, and he blushed at her insinuation. "Um... Uh..." "Allow me." Glasses offered. "As Ouran Academy's most successful club, we offer companionship and entertainment to the young women here in the form of tea parties and various other organized events. We pride ourselves on courtship and chivalry and, in essence, provide a face for the many romantic desires our guests harbor."

"Oh!" Daria exclaimed. "So you're like a phone sex line or a strip club. You give a little goodie and make a profit off of lonely desperate people?" At this, a choked sound came from Tamaki and he began to lean on the bespectacled character, crying and wailing "Mommy, make her stop! My heart can't take it!" The twins began to laugh again and Ritsu stood a little closer to Daria, a deadpan on his face at the statement she had made. "I'm Honey!" They both jumped, somehow having forgotten the small human attached to Daria's leg. "And that's my cousin, Takashi!" He exclaimed, gesturing to the giant that he had perched on earlier. "You can call him Mori if you want though! And that's Haru-chan," The girl, "And Kyo-chan," Glasses, "Hika-chan and Kaoru-chan," The twins, "And Tama-chan!"

"Well, I'm going to assume those aren't their real names, but thank you for letting me know, Honey." She patted him on the head and offered her hand for the little boy to shake, which he did very, _very_ excitedly. "And I'm Daria Engebretson. It's nice to meet you all." Only Honey, Haruhi, and Mori nodded in return, the others busy trying to calm Tamaki down. "Well, gentlemen, madam, we really must be going. By my calculation, homeroom should be starting any time now." Daria and Ritsu made to leave, but once again, Tamaki jumped on them. "Wait! You mustn't tell anyone that Haruhi is a girl! If you do then-WHAAAA!" Daria simply flicked him in the nose and shrugged him off of her. "Sure thing. Whatever. Please stop touching me. Bye."

####

Ritsu couldn't focus on anything. The whispers around him just seemed to intensify as the day went on, everyone wondering who the girl he had been with this morning was and why was she American and why was she with _him_. The last bit was the only part that had bothered him. Over the last few days, Ritsu and Daria had become very close. Sure, they were legally obligated to be married, but for now they were becoming fast friends and it offended him that people didn't think he could have a friend like her. Her unconditional acceptance of him had made it slip his mind that everyone simply assumed he was nothing but a mean gangster just by looking at him and he found himself wishing she were there to tell him again that people didn't matter.

" _Fuck 'em. If people can't appreciate you just because they're sensitive little pussies, then they aren't people you need to concern yourself with."_

Her words from the other day played over and over in his mind, but it did little to silence the whispers. Putting on an _actual_ glare, he yelled for everyone to shut up and mind their own damn business, earning him a look from the teacher, but everyone else actually listened and the whispers ceased. At least for the moment, anyway.

####

Daria was in Phys Ed at the moment, and they were all running around the track since it was the first day. The constant gossip all day had given her a headache and she couldn't be more glad that this was the last class before she got to go home. She was the only female in the class that was actually running, all of the other girls choosing to lump together in groups and walk so they could talk. As she lapped past one such group, she heard one of them. "She's so fat. No wonder she was with Kasanoda. Must be the only guy she could trick into wasting his time on her. And why is her hair _blue?_ " At this, anger surged through her. Sure, she didn't meet Ritsu through conventional methods, but he was quickly coming to mean very much to her, and she would be damned if she would let these prissy air heads talk shit about him.

She slowed down and turned so that she was at a slow jog, moving backward so she could face the group of idiots. "Watch your mouth. You don't know a damn thing about him." Then, she lifted up her shirt, flashing off her rather defined stomach to the group, and pretty much the whole class if they were looking, which earned a lot of interest from the male population. "And I'm not fat, bitch. I'm voluptuous. Learn the difference." She then turned back around and shot off like a rocket, her feet pounding her frustration into the ground below her, leaving the stunned and very offended group behind.

####

"We are the talk of the school, you know." Ritsu commented after they had been walking in silence for a good ten minutes. "Especially after you allegedly stripped during Phys Ed." Daria snorted, looking at Ritsu incredulously. "Wow, these rich people really need to get a life. The rumors are very out of hand. I didn't strip, I showed some dumb girl my stomach because she called me fat. Apparently none of these bitches know what a real woman's body looks like that isn't Asian. People come in all shapes and sizes and I just so happen to have molded mine into peak physical condition." Ritsu remained silent, pondering her extreme confidence. He had never heard of a woman that didn't constantly complain about the things they didn't like about themselves before. Daria was completely comfortable with who she was and what she looked like and had no problem stating that, but she wasn't arrogant about it. She spoke of it as if she were merely observing the weather and moved on. He liked her confidence. And he also kind of wished he could see what she had shown her entire Phys Ed class.

"Peak physical condition, huh?" He finally commented. "Mhmm. I like to exercise, and consequently that has lead to me being muscular rather than flabby. It's actually pretty exciting. I used to be very overweight." She then began to ramble on about the merits of yoga versus active cardio workouts, but Ritsu had retreated back into his own mind, not of his own volition but a slave to his imagination trying to picture what she looked like. He felt like a pervert, to the extreme, for thinking of such things, but he simply couldn't help it. The way her body curved and the small bits of skin he had seen so far were titillating, her personality was utterly provocative and she was to be his wife. This, however, lead him to think about the things that husbands and wives do and he suddenly had a hard time breathing and his heart began to stutter. He was sure he was wheezing. Would she even want to do such things with him? They were just friends. What if she never thought of him like that? Would she feel disappointed in life? Were his pants tight?

"Woah, calm down there. You're gonna have a coronary." He was yanked back to reality when she began to pat him on the back gently, and he became vaguely aware that he was hunched over with his hands braced on his knees. And that his face was burning. And that they had arrived home and all the men were lined along the walkway like they usually were, staring at him in great concern. "I'm fine!" He squeaked out, his normally deep voice coming out very high-pitched and completely unlike him at all. His eyes darted back and forth between everyone's face before he gave a brief nod and ran inside, not stopping until he reached his room and slammed the door shut, leaving a very confused group of people outside.

####

Daria had gotten into the swing of things by the time the second week of school was half way over. She would wake up early and work out and listen to music, she and Ritsu would walk to school, they would sometimes have run ins with that kooky host club, they would go to home room, they would go to their respective classes, she and Ritsu would meet up and eat lunch outside under some trees, they would go back to classes, she would be harassed by rumors and accosted by whispers, she would outshine everyone in Phys Ed and then they would walk home, where she proceeded to do hours of homework, eat, shower then sleep. All in all, it wasn't terrible. She was having a bit of trouble in Japanese history, as she had spent all of her formative years learning _American_ History, and her German and Calculus classes required a lot of focus, but all of her other classes were a peace of cake, something she was very thankful for.

Daria had just finished eating her Bento that the cook had prepared for her. Ritsu had finished only minutes before and stretched his legs out in front of him and in a moment of spontaneity, Daria reached up and began running her fingers through his hair, much like she had in the middle of the mall when they had gone shopping. "Uh... What are you doing?" Ritsu had stiffened at her touch and proceeded to look at her cautiously. "Playing with your hair." She replied matter-of-factually. "I like how soft it is." "You're weird." Daria simply smiled at his comment and continued to run her fingers through his red locks, earning a few stares from the people that were in the immediate vicinity and causing the whispers to start up again.

"Does it bother you? Me playing with your hair?" She asked him softly. He seemed to ponder the question heavily for a moment before responding. "No, not exactly. It feels nice. I'm just not used to having people touch me." "Well, get used to it bub. Because I'm a very touchy-feely person." Her Japanese had become remarkably stronger than when she had arrived almost a month prior. It amazed him how she managed to work her American slang into their conversations. She then shifted so she was laying on her back with her head in his lap, laughing at the blush that overtook his face. "Why exactly is that?" He asked her.

She shrugged in response. "I'm not sure. Freud would probably suggest that I have deep-seated feelings about never having a father-figure in my life, but my best guess is that I just like physical contact in general. Growing up in unstable environments tends to do that to people." She immediately turned her attention to the practically ancient mp3 player she had whipped out of nowhere, a defense mechanism she often employed when she didn't want to have a certain conversation, and completely missed the sad look that settled on her companions features as he stared off at nothing in particular. She had some demons, everyone did, but there was no point in bothering Ritsu about them.

####

"Yes, my son? What is it you wanted to talk to me about?" The request to see his old man was received as a great surprise. The younger man hardly wanted anything to do with his father, for reasons the older man could not begin to understand. "I wanted to know about Daria's past. I've known her for almost three weeks and we talk and everything but the more we do, the more mysterious she seems to become."

"Ah, yes. So you two are getting along then?" The older man asked, taking a long puff from his pipe, earning nothing more than a nod from the young lord. "Well, son, women are mysterious creatures in general. I had hoped by now you would have more experience in dealings with them, but I suppose now is as good a time as any to learn. Better than after you are married." The mob boss could never understand why his sons face flushed so much. He had the perfect face to make him the most notorious Yakuza boss in history and the intimidation to boot, but he always seemed to turn bright red whenever he spoke to anyone. Perhaps he had a skin condition? Who knows?

"Women are very complex. They can feel many different emotions all at once and hold many secrets. They are like chameleons. They can turn into any person to fit into any situation. One woman can be perfectly lady-like in public and a complete animal behind the privacy of closed doors, if you know what I mean." The older man boomed with insinuating laughter and his son began to sputter, not sure what to make of the innuendo. "Daria, though, she uh... Well she has had a hard life. According to the file the social worker provided to Koh, her mother was a teenage drug addict and she was bounced around between temporary homes and orphanages for nearly ten years. She has had some trouble with the law too, but of course nothing we would ever see as a problem. Our lifestyle isn't exactly the most straight and narrow, as you know." Ritsu pondered all of this new information as he thanked his father and walked out of the room, leaving the older man to turn back to the shrine of his wife, as he spent most evenings.

####

As Ritsu walked down the hallway, he heard a soft voice singing behind Daria's door. As he moved closer, he realized she was singing in English, and that it sounded very sad and haunting. Without thinking, his hand raised itself and knocked on the wooden barrier, and he held his breath. The voice instantly stopped and he heard a shuffling sound cross the floor. After what felt like forever (but really could have only been a few seconds), the door swung open, revealing the teenage girl clad in very, _very_ short fluffy shorts and the shirt she had been wearing when he had bumped into her the morning after her arrival. His gaze, of its own volition, grazed the exposed skin on her side and he blushed.

"Yes?" She asked him expectantly, her lips quirking into a small smirk and her hand moving to rest on her hip. "I uh, what were you singing?" He asked, moving to rub the back of his neck. "Oh! It's this amazing band called Evanescense. Have you heard them?" Her eyes lit up in a way he had never seen before as she spoke of the band. "No. I don't really listen to music much. And my English isn't too good." Before he could make heads or tales of what was happening, she had grabbed his hand and yanked him into the room with her, shut the door behind them and shoved one of her ear buds into his ear. Instantly, a beautiful piano melody filled his mind and a moment later, a woman's voice joined the music. In that same instance, Daria began to sing along, translating the lyrics into Japanese for his benefit.

 _I'm so tired of being here  
Suppressed by all my  
Childish fears_

 _And if you have to leave  
I wish that you would just leave  
Because your presence still lingers here  
And it won't leave me alone_

The song was, indeed, very haunting, and he was struck by how deeply full of emotion Daria's soft voice had become. Her eyes had closed and her hand had come to rest on his chest in the general area where his heart was as she swayed to the melody and for a moment, it was all he could focus on. "So did you like it?" Her words surprised him. He hadn't realized the song had ended and that at some point, his own eyes had closed. He suddenly wished she would keep singing, just so he could hear her voice, but at the same time, he really, _really_ wanted to kiss her and keep her mouth busy for a little while. " _Wait, what? Where had that come from?"_

"Yeah. It was good." He replied, seeing her expectant gaze. His voice came out rather husky, quite the feat considering its already relatively low usual octave. "It would be easier if I could understand it though." He cleared his throat. "For some reason I just can't seem to grasp the English Language. I've always gotten bad marks in that class." At this, she giggled and rolled her eyes. "Shoot, I could teach you English. Well... I could teach you to understand it and how to hold a conversation. Sentence structure and proper syntax is a bit tricky no matter what. I've even seen ELA teachers make mistakes every now and then." She rambled on and a light bulb went off in the young man's head. So far, he and Daria only ever spent time together during school hours because the second they got home, she would hole up in her room to do homework for hours. If she were tutoring him, though, not only would he get to spend more time with her and get to know her a little better, but he might actually get a good grade in English for once.

"Yes, please." He cut off her mini rant, and she looked at him in surprise. "Hm?" She questioned. "If its not too much trouble, I could use all the help I can get. We are only, what? A week and a half in? And already my grade in English Language is starting to slip." "Okay!" She replied enthusiastically. "It's no trouble at all. Really! Here, we can start now!" He was suddenly hauled over to her bed and she pushed him into a sitting position as she grabbed a notebook and a pen from her bag before sitting down next to him. He blushed as her bare leg pressed against his jean-clad one and his elbow grazed over the bare skin on her waist. " _Wow, she really is at peak physical condition."_ By this point, he was blushing furiously and she was writing down a bunch of stuff, rambling off about who knows what.

"Okay," She pulled him out of his thoughts, which were focused on the way her warm skin felt against his arm. "This is the alphabet. These twenty six letters make up every single word in the English Language. He forced himself to focus on what she was telling him, and the lesson went on for the better part of the night, neither of them noticing when the clock struck eleven or that they both had drifted off next to each other on her bed.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Slowly, ever so slowly, Daria floated to consciousness. She flexed her fingers, scrunched her toes, wiggled various parts of her face, then began to contort her body in order to stretch out her muscles. She carefully opened one eye, observing her room. The fact that she could _see_ her room told her the sun had risen, and that in turn informed her that she had forgotten to set her alarm and had overslept. She then glanced to the digital alarm clock on her bedside table for confirmation. " _Six Thirty. Not too bad."_ She wouldn't be able to work out this morning like she usually did on a normal day when she rose at five, but she had plenty of time to take a nice long shower and eat something a little more complex for breakfast than her usual fruit and peanut butter.

She heaved a sigh at having to get up after finally experiencing a night void of nightmares for the first time in over two weeks and swiftly rolled over to get out of bed. However, instead of the empty space she was normally faced with, there was a body in her way, facing away from her. And this body had a very bright red head of hair. Suddenly the night before came flying back to her mind, how she had spent nearly four hours teaching Ritsu the English alphabet and translations of basic words. How she had gradually yawned more and more frequently. Then she quickly pieced together that both she and the boy in her bed must have unknowingly slipped into unconsciousness.

Frowning at her carelessness, she decided there was no point in waking him up just yet. He normally didn't roll out of bed until it was absolutely necessary, usually around seven forty five. Having made up her mind, she rolled the opposite direction and quietly slipped off of the bed, trying like hell to keep her steps as light as possible as she grabbed her clothes and exited the room in pursuit of the facilities.

The hot water did little to quiet her mind as she thought over everything. Had it been anyone else that had happened with, she would have definitely freaked out. She didn't like waking up with _anyone_ near her that she wasn't 100% aware of having in bed with her before she fell asleep. Growing up like she did required her to be extra cautious of things like that. Right now, however, she was completely and totally calm, as if she subconsciously didn't mind the fact that she and Ritsu had slept in the same bed one bit. The more she thought about it, the more comforting it was and the more her feelings made sense. They were going to have to get used to doing that at some point, so this was a good start. They were comfortable enough with each other, they were close emotionally (for people that had only known each other for a month and had been engaged and living together that whole time, anyway). He was a far better person than most people she had ever met.

And she hadn't had any nightmares...

That last bit was what convinced her that it wasn't a problem. She usually had horrible, crippling nightmares that left her gasping for air and sometimes sobbing horridly into her pillow. The scenarios ranged anywhere from when she used to live with her mom and they were on the move to her more abusive foster homes, or to the many times she had lost someone very close to her because of the various illegal activities she had used to participate in before she had finally decided that she needed to be better than her mother rather than following in her footsteps.

####

"You don't talk about your feelings very much, do you?" Daria broke the silence between them. Ritsu had been avoiding her gaze all morning and they were almost to school. He could see the gates and had picked up his pace a little bit in attempt to escape the awkward. Waking up in Daria's bed had left him discombobulated and _very_ embarrassed _._ "I uh... I... No... Not uh... Not really." He wasn't even trying to hide the fact that he was looking everywhere _but_ at her. That was put to a quick end, however, when she grabbed his arm and pushed him up against a tree and leaned _very, very_ close to him.

"Do I make you nervous, Ritsu?" Her eyes were half-lidded and her voice had dropped to a husky whisper as she pressed herself against him, tracing patterns over his yellow v-neck shirt he wore under his jacket and grazed her lips against his ear. He definitely didn't know what to do know. His legs became jelly and the only thing that left his mouth was a string of unintelligible, high-pitched choked whines, to which Daria only laughed, pulled away and looked up at him with a mischievous smirk and a cocked eye brow. "Why..." he whined, sliding half-way down the tree, looking as if he had been violated and betrayed. His entire face began to twitch, and Daria couldn't help the laughing fit the sight threw her into.

"There is absolutely nothing to be embarrassed about." She chuckled once she had sobered a bit. "All we did was sleep next to each other. We weren't even in pajamas or under the blankets." She reached out a hand to help him stand back up and he slowly took it, not trusting her to not do something... something like _that_ again. His pants had grown tight and his entire body felt hot. His heart was absolutely racing, and he was sure he was going to suffer a heart attack before they even reached the school's gate. "Well come along then. We don't need to be late just because you have intimacy troubles." Yep. This girl was going to be the death of him. He silently followed behind her, sulking and trying to discreetly adjust his clothes.

####

"Why is your hair blue?" Daria looked up, searching for the source of the question as she tied her sneakers. Her gaze landed on the snotty girl that had called her fat and she scoffed, rolling her eyes at the sight. The girl, Oko, was backed by her posse, as usual. The group had become a thorn in Daria's side ever since that first day of class. "Because I like it. Obviously." Daria replied, turning to close her locker.

"It looks ridiculous." Oko countered, crossing her arms. Daria let out a short laugh, turning to the group. "Look," she said, "I wouldn't expect a basic bitch such as yourself to understand, but I have this little thing called individuality, which I tend to express in various physical and metaphysical ways." The flock of girls began to squawk incredulously at the insult to their almighty leader and Daria quickly exited the locker room, leaving their annoying voices behind. Today, they were playing dodge ball. That's all she cared about in the world at the moment. This had always been her favorite gym activity. There was just nothing more satisfying than nailing your enemies in the face with a rubber ball.

"OK!" the instructor, Jo Min-Sensei clapped, getting everyone's attention. "Everyone begin stretching, then I will divide you into teams." Everyone did as he said, bending and stretching their muscles. All of the guys in the class were pumped for the game while all of the girls, Daria excluded, did nothing but complain. They were too concerned with breaking a nail. Or a sweat. As usual, Daria, who avidly practiced yoga in her spare time, was showing off as she stretched. She thought it was hilarious how all of the other girls couldn't even reach their toes, but she could bend like a pretzel.

"Alright, I'm going to number you off. Odd numbers go to one side of the gym, even go to the other." Jo Min-Sensei began numbering off the students. Daria was on the odd numbered team, and to her great relief, Oko and three of her disciples were on the opposite side. Unfortunately, that meant she had to deal with two of them being on her team, but she would get over it. They all lined up. Daria noticed that her group was mostly guys, for which she was thankful, and the whistle blew.

Everything was crazy for a second. Daria shot off toward the line of balls in between the two battlegrounds and snagged two for herself as she slid across the floor on her hip. She quickly launched herself back up and spun, immediately launching her ammo at the nearest opponent. She hit him square in the chest before spinning out of the way of a ball heading straight for her and used her momentum to throw the other ball, hitting one girl in the leg. For a moment, she busied herself jumping out of the way of many flying projectiles before catching one and nailing another guy in the back who was trying to grab a ball from the ground.

It was all out war. The gym was filled with girlish shrieks, manly grunts and the high pitched zing of rubber balls bouncing off of various surfaces. All of the girls spent most of their time trying not to get hit, only bothering to throw a ball when one rolled near their feet (and usually missing). The guys were going hard and Daria was going even harder. There were so many people getting out and others being brought back in by people who had caught balls that she gave up trying to keep score, but she was having the time of her life. Most of these guys, she had discovered, were from the D class, which meant that most of them came from ruthless Yakuza families. They played hard, proving themselves worthy opponents. Interestingly enough, she had yet to come across a female that was associated with anything yakuza. All of these girls she was seeing now were simply from lower-class families. Their parents were small time lawyers or dentists or worked at medical practices but didn't run any themselves.

"Yama! Watch out!" Daria yelled, alerting one of the guys near her to a ball zooming toward him. He jumped out of the way in the same moment Daria jumped up into the air, catching a ball going over her head and throwing it, hitting the guy who had launched the ball at her teammate. "Thanks!" He called out, throwing his own ball and hitting a girl in the shoulder. By this time, Daria had begun to sweat and was actually a little winded. Her team was winning so far, only having three people still out as opposed to the opposite team's seven.

She quickly assessed the battlefield as she knocked out two more opponents when suddenly a sharp pain exploded from her left temple and she dropped, seeing stars. The ringing in her ears began to subside after a minute, and she was able to tell that all of the action had stopped. She opened her eyes to see that she was laying on her back on the ground and a large group of her peers were standing around her, Jo Min-Sensei kneeling by her side asking if she was OK. The world stopped spinning finally and she tried to sit up, only to have a wave of nausea wash over her. "Can you hear me, Engebretson-San?" She simply groaned an affirmative, trying to stay as still as possible. Her clouded mind freaked out a little bit, swearing she had a concussion, but after a second focused wholly on the words coming from her Sensei's mouth, having a slightly harder time than normal understanding the Japanese at that very second.

"You're gonna need to go to the nurse. Can anyone take her?" Yama and another boy, Daria thought his name might be Jin, volunteered and together, the three of them slowly raised the American girl to her feet and adjusted her so that most of her weight was on the two boys' shoulders. Daria groaned loudly, shutting her eyes tight in attempt to stop the spinning as she was whisked away quickly to the nurse's office.

"Oh, dear! What happened?" Daria heard a woman's voice exclaim a while later. The trip could have been ten seconds or an hour, but she had no way of knowing right then. "She got hit in the head when we were playing dodge ball." Yama explained as the two boys gently lead her to a bed and laid her down. She became vaguely aware of something liquid running down the side of her head, toward her hair before she began to convulse. The woman, who Daria had yet to see as she had not yet opened her eyes, squeaked and shoved a small trash can into her hands just in time for the sweaty, dizzy student to empty the contents of her stomach into it. "Thank you, boys. I can take it from here." Daria heard as she allowed herself to slip into blissful unconsciousness.

Sometime later, Daria's eyes slowly opened. The lights were dimmed and she was laying on a very uncomfortable bed. Movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention and she slowly turned her head to look at the only other person in the room. Her head was pounding as she took in the sight of Ritsu, looking extremely concerned, sitting in a chair with both his and her things on the ground next to him. "Hey," he said quietly. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I got hit in the head with a ball." She replied dryly, turning her head back so she could resume looking at the ceiling. She could feel a bandage near her hair line and she had a bitter taste in her mouth thanks to her biological expulsion before she had passed out. "How long have I been out?" She asked.

"About an hour. School already let out." She made a small noise in acknowledgment, reaching up to hold her head. Just then, the nurse came in and helped her sit up, handing her a cup of water and proceeding to check her for signs of a concussion. "Alright well the blunt force to your temple seems to be affecting your inner ear, giving you slight vertigo, but that and your headache should clear up in a day or two. You don't seem to have a concussion so you are good to go. Remember to rest and stay hydrated, OK?" Daria agreed to the lady's terms and conditions and swung her legs over the side of the bed.

In an instant, Ritsu was at her side, helping her stand up and keeping his hands on her shoulders to keep her stabilized. "There's a car waiting for us out front. Come on." He slowly led her to the front of the school, carrying both of their bags on his shoulders and catching her a few times when she nearly fell over. Daria had never been so happy to climb into a car and she sighed, laying her head on Ritsu's shoulder, nodding back off into dream land before they even reached the street.

####

"Ritsu, I'm fine. Really." For the third time that day, Daria had attempted to escape her room, only to be hefted into the young lord's arms as he redirected her route and deposited her back on her bed. "The nurse said two days. So you need to stay there and rest for two days." She rolled her eyes at his motherly orders. It was now Saturday, and he had been fussing over her, forcing her to do nothing but lay in bed and do "non-stressful" activities, such as listen to music or teach him more English, which only lasted about twenty minutes at a time before he insisted she was going to "over do" it and forced her to lie down.

"But I'm boredddd..." She whined, pawing at his arm and flipping herself so her no-longer-throbbing head was hanging off of the side of the bed, kicking her leg up to poke him in the back of the head with her big toe. "Gah! Would you not do that?! And don't lay like that, you're gonna hurt your neck or something." Like an overbearing mother obsessed with keeping her first born in a bubble of protection, he grabbed his female counterpart and rearranged her so that she was laying on her pillow. Just to annoy him, she immediately wiggled and flopped so that she was face down at the foot of her bed and pretended she was swimming a midst the sea of her fluffy duvet, causing him to sweat-drop in irritation.

"I'm serious though! I need something to do! You're acting like I'm a Bubble Boy or something. I need to work out or dance around or rip apart something with my teeth." The last suggestion disturbed the boy a bit, making him move away from her slightly before giving up and sighing. "Fine! But if it looks at all like you're any sort of dizzy, I'm bringing you straight back to your room." The girl fist pumped in victory and in half a second had launched off of her bed, out the door and down the hallway, her arms up in the air and screaming like she was just absolutely too excited to hold it in. "Hey, wait! Come back!" He called, launching himself after her, determined to keep his self-appointed charge safe.

Panting heavily, he finally found her in the gym. She had hooked her mp3 player he hadn't even seen her grab into the stereo and was blasting some American hip hop (or something like that. Ritsu wasn't exactly sure) and had taken to dancing like the people in one of those Step Up movies she had forced him to watch a few days prior. She had claimed that she would educate him in all things Pop Culture that she enjoyed and he had yet to learn about, "whether he liked it or not." A chill had run down his spine when she had said that, causing him to quickly agree for fear of facing whatever form of wrath her being could conjure. Just a meaningless and small threat such as that had him hoping he would never find himself on her bad side. He still had a lot to learn about her, but he felt certain she could be very scary when she wanted to.

Contenting himself with simply sitting on the floor and watching her, he was amazed at how she was able to contort and move her body along with the beat of the music in such fluid motions. It was as if she was the very embodiment of the music, and it hypnotized him. He himself had the physical rhythm of a one-legged duck, and therefore had no prayer of ever looking even somewhat decent trying to dance. The song changed, and with it, Daria began to dance even crazier. Part of him wanted to grab her and force her to sit still, afraid she would overexert herself, but another part was perfectly fine watching the smile on her lips and interestingly odd expressions on the rest of her face as she got out all of the pent up energy that had taken residence within her over the last few days.

"OK, I'm done. We can do something else now." She stated, grabbing her mp3 player and walking over to him. He stood up and began checking her, making sure she hadn't hurt herself somehow, to which she scoffed and crossed her arms over her chest, cocking an eyebrow at him. "Oh don't give me that look." He muttered, giving her a small glare of his own in return. Out the window, he saw a few of the men stiffen, having seen him glaring, but Daria simply stuck her tongue out him in just the most _adult_ way possible and turned on her heel, marching off.

He followed, shoving his hands in the pockets of his pants, smiling after the girl. Having someone around that was never afraid of him was the greatest thing that had ever happened in his life. She never flinched when he had one of his hissy-fit moments, she spent a lot of time with him (something that was incredible all on its own considering Haruhi was the only other girl he had ever even talked to), and she smiled at him. She truly treated him like just any other person rather than the terrifying future God Father of the Kasanoda-Gumi syndicate.

But no, that wasn't exactly true... She didn't treat him like just anyone else. Not only had she allowed him to sleep in her bed with her, but had gone to very compelling lengths to convince him that it was OK and that he shouldn't be embarrassed about it. He got flustered way more than the average person, he would admit, and he knew that was due to his limited social interactions, but Daria seemed to make him more flustered than usual, then told him he shouldn't be. But how could he not? The feelings that damn woman incited in him were off the charts and he was nowhere near a point where he knew how to deal with them.

Stepping outside of his own head for a second, Ritsu looked around, realizing he had somehow made it to the grass out in front of the main house. He couldn't see Daria anywhere and his heartbeat sped up, beginning to panic when suddenly he tripped over something, falling hard. "Falling for me, I see." His face flushed and he looked around, discovering he had tripped over the very girl he had been searching for, just laying there in the grass looking up at the sky. "What the hell are you doing?" He grumbled, moving into a sitting position. "I'm lying in the grass. What does it look like I'm doing?"

"Well someone's got their sassy pants on." He muttered, repeating the phrase he had heard her use when she had been joking around with Tetsuya a couple of weeks prior. She began to laugh at this, rolling to look up at him. She smiled, and he smiled back before she grabbed his hand and yanked on him, bringing him down to a laying position on the ground next to her. He laid very still as she cuddled up to him, positioning both herself and him so that they were comfortable and laid her head on his chest.

"Thank you for taking care of me, Ritsu. It means a lot. I don't mean to seem so ungrateful, I'm just not used to this sort of thing." His heart both fluttered and broke a little right then and there, wondering what kind of life she had had before she came to live in his home that she wouldn't be used to someone simply telling her to take it easy after she had been injured. Slowly, his arm came to rest around her upper back and he decided to let the silence speak for itself. Together they laid there for hours, just looking up at the sky and making small talk, all the while with his mind set on how much he wanted to know more about his future wife.

####

It had been a month since Daria had laid with Ritsu in the grass outside their home. The two of them were currently stood in front of the door that lead into the famed Music Room #3, neither completely sure if they wanted to push it open. For Ritsu, he knew full and well exactly how crazy and stupid the Host Club was, referencing back to when he had asked Mori-Senpai to take him on as his apprentice the previous year, but Daria had no clue what to expect. She had heard a lot about the goings on of the club, and she had met them multiple times during mornings when their paths had crossed, but she had never truly seen them in action, and the thought scared her a little bit.

"Remind me again why we agreed to do this?" She asked him, biting her lip. "We?! I didn't agree to anything. _You_ said yes to Suoh's invitation." He ground out. The last time he had been in that room, the entire school thought he was gay and Haruhi friend-zoned him. It wasn't his greatest moment. Taking a deep breath, Daria decided to take the plunge before she chickened out and turned the handle.

The sight that awaited the pair on the other side of the door was truly something that only someone with a wild imagination could only think of. Everyone was dressed in cliche Hawaiian garb, there were tiki decorations everywhere, and traditional Hawaiian hula music was playing in the background. That was all well and good, completely normal for a themed social event. What really got Daria was the fact that Tamaki was chasing a still-uniform-clad Haruhi through the room with a coconut bra and hula skirt, the twins were groping each other very inappropriately, Honey was demolishing a Pineapple Upside Down Cake with extreme prejudice, Mori was spinning a Poi staff that _was actually lit on fire_ , and Kyoya was in a corner crunching numbers so furiously that it would put any professional corporate accountant to shame.

"Well, I certainly didn't get the hula memo." She muttered to her companion, who was very obviously put out by the activities that were transpiring. "Is it always this crazy?" She asked him, perplexed. "What are you talking about? This is them being calm. The last time I was here I ended up in a Kitty Maid outfit." Daria choked. " _What?!"_

"And you don't have any pictures of that?!" She practically yelled, earning them both the attention of everyone in the room. "Welcome!" Tamaki suddenly appeared out of nowhere, reaching for Daria's hand to plant a kiss on it. "Nuh nuh." She admonished him, wagging her finger in his face. "No touching, remember?" He merely backed up and nodded, remembering very clearly the things she was not afraid of doing to him. "But of course. Welcome to the Ouran Host Club, dear princess. And welcome back Bossanova." She heard Ritsu grumble about how that wasn't his name in a very irritated fashion as Tamaki continued. "We have refreshing Tiki punch, feel free to help yourselves to as much as you would like. Who would you like to sit with?"

"Uhh..." Daria wasn't sure what to say. She didn't really know any of these people well enough to say a specific person whose company she would prefer. "I'm really only here for observation purposes. Is there like... A waiting area or something?" "Ria-chan! Come sit with Takashi and me!" She heard Honey yell excitedly from across the room. "We have caaaaake!" He sang out. "Erm, OK. I guess I'll sit with Honey." She said to the King. Ritsu muttered an affirmative, choosing to stay close to her side. She seemed to not fall victim to the club's antics, unlike himself, and he figured he could use her as a metaphorical human shield to prevent himself from ending up like he had the last time.

On the way over to the table, Daria could feel the stares and hear the whispers coming from all of the girls around them. Ritsu stayed silent, watching the ground in front of him, most likely in an attempt to avoid scaring anyone with his glare (something that happened a lot, but Daria had noticed that he hated it. When someone flinched, a hurt look always overtook his eyes). Daria however, didn't feel like putting up with it. "Do any of you have a problem?" She asked aloud, cocking her hand on her hip in a challenging fashion. The whispers ceased and all eyes turned back to what they were doing.

"Yeah, that's what I thought. Come on, Ritsu." She looped her arm through his, as both of his hands were shoved in his pockets again, and gave him an encouraging look. He smiled back and held his head a little higher, a far better sight than the self-conscious man he had been only moments before. She had been working on helping him build up his self esteem. It was progressing very slowly, but he was already leaps and bounds beyond where they had started. He stood a little taller, blushed maybe one out of ten times less, and he smiled more. She really did love his smile. It always reached his eyes, no matter how small it was. Whenever he smiled, it was always _genuine_ , nothing Daria could say for herself most of the time.

The pair reached the table and Ritsu, being a gentleman, pulled a chair out for her. In an incredible show of feminism, she in turn did the same for him and they both grinned at each other as they sat down. This definitely earned them more than just a few looks, first because she had done something none of the people in that room had ever dreamed of, second because the son of a yakuza boss _enjoyed_ the gesture, third because they truly got along (something none of the people in attendance thought possible of the red headed teenager with a girl), and fourth because he had _smiled._ They ignored everyone, though, choosing instead to focus on the rather decadent cake that was set before them and making small talk with each other and occasionally their Hosts; when they weren't busy entertaining the ladies, that is.

####

"Excuse me, Kasanoda-Senpai?" A small feminine voice interrupted the discussion Ritsu had been having with Daria about the difference between your and you're, and he turned in surprise to find a small girl waiting nervously. "Um... Yes?" he asked, his voice deep in confusion. Other than Haruhi and Daria, no girl had actively tried to talk to him before. "I don't mean to be rude, and I hope you don't mind me asking this, but didn't you used to have a..." Her voice dropped to a whisper and she leaned in closer, shielding her mouth with one of her hands. " _Homosexual thing with Haruhi?"_ He could instantly feel is face go beet-red and next to him, Daria choked on her punch. He quickly made sure she was OK, patting her back and offering her a napkin that was on the table.

"You had a _what_ and _where_ was I?!" She finally shrieked out after a minute, laughing much harder than he could imagine was healthy for someone who had just been choking. Yep. It was official. He was regretting allowing Daria to convince him to come. He only ever ended up being embarrassed in unimaginable ways when he stepped into this room. "It wasn't a homosexual thing! We're just friends!" He yelled. All of the girls, as well as the hosts in the immediate area, drained of color and moved to hide behind something, fearful of the scary-looking boy's wrath. He just knew his face was the same color as his hair and he hung his head in both shame and irritation.

"Hey, now. I was only kidding." She got up from her seat and moved to stand behind him, placing her hands on his shoulders and making quick work of massaging her thumbs into the tense muscles along his neck. He relaxed considerably at her touch, and she continued the treatment. "That was a valid question. If in the past you requested to sit with Haruhi, then it would definitely look like something was going on there. No need to get your knickers in a twist." After a minute, she chuckled softly and leaned forward, wrapping her arms around him in a light, backwards hug before returning to her seat. "Now, I think you should apologize to that girl. She was only curious. For completely stupid and unconventionally immoral reasons, but innocently curious all the same." He looked up at her in a glare and she immediately pointed a finger at him, leaving no room for discussion. "And don't you sass me, boy."

He only groaned in child-like defeat and turned back to where the girl now perched behind a nearby couch. "I'm sorry for yelling. Your question just caught me off guard." He rolled his eyes at being treated like a small child. The girl, however, smiled and rose from her hiding place. "It's OK." She responded, smiling at him and linking her hands behind her back. "So you and Haruhi are just friends, then?" She asked. He nodded a yes and she smiled, running back to her group of like-minded fan girls and whispering excitedly to them, no doubt happy that the "walking blizzard" had apologized to _her_. Everyone else in the room sat in stunned silence for a moment more, having watched the scene with extreme interest, and Ritsu knew that what had just happened would be all over the school in a matter of minutes. These people needed to get lives in a bad way.

"Aloha, everyone! We are about to start our hula competition, then we will be playing the commoner game, Limbo!" Tamaki clapped excitedly. "Hula competition, huh? Well that sounds interesting. I'll be right back." Daria got up from her seat and walked over to the Host King, leaving Ritsu to sit on his own. "Hey, Bossanova! Do you want more punch?" The small blond boy asked him innocently, drawing his attention away from the way his knee was now bouncing nervously. "Uh, yeah, sure. Thanks." The child-like boy got down from his seat and walked over to where Ritsu sat, trying to lift the pitcher that held the punch so he could fill the younger boy's cup. "Mitsukuni. You're going to spill." The boy's stoic older cousin then grabbed the pitcher from him and filled the red-head's cup, and all of the girls within a ten foot radius of the table swooned. " _Man these guys are idiots."_ Ritsu sweat-dropped.

Tamaki then recaptured everyone's attention, and Ritsu looked up to find a line-up of about seven girls in coconut bras and hula skirts, one of which was _Daria_. That was definitely the most skin he had ever seen of a girl at one time, but Daria... He flushed and he felt his pants tighten just a bit. This girl was definitely going to be the death of him. She had let her hair down from the bun it had been in earlier and the outfit revealed her full midsection, as well as glimpses of her smooth, shapely legs when the grass parted. Suddenly the music started and all of the girls began to dance, but Ritsu could only focus on the American that looked like a Greek Goddess mixed with a tough street wanderer. The girl that slept not twenty feet away from him every night, if not closer during times when they fell asleep in one or the others' room together.

Her hips moved with the beat of the music and a smile lit up her face. She was clearly having fun dancing like a Pacific Islander, and he found himself drifting off into an argument with himself about whether Japan was considered a Pacific Island chain, but he quickly dropped it when the blue-haired girl turned and he got a nice view of her back side, as well as... _"Was that a tattoo?"_ Upon further inspection, Ritsu indeed saw a tattoo just along the back left side of the girl's rib cage. If he squinted from his position across the room, he could see that it was English words, written in an elegant, dainty script, stretching from her hip all the way up past the line where the tie from the coconut top sat, but he was in neither the position, nor place in his lessons of the English language to be able to make out what it said.

"We have a winner!" Tamaki exclaimed, placing a lei of tropical flowers around Daria's neck. Ritsu hadn't even realized the song was over, or that the other girls had been losing. His eyes had remained focused on Daria the entire time, his mind reeling over the fact that she had a _tattoo_. He took a second to evaluate his feelings, and found that he thought it was a little attractive. _Hott_ even. Being the son of a God Father of a gang meant that Ritsu had certainly _seen_ his fair share of tattooed people, women even, but he had only ever seen traditional Japanese artwork which served to signify that the bearer was indeed yakuza. The simple looking phrase, though he did not yet know what it meant, definitely made her look both tough for having it and lady-like for its elegance, just like her nose ring.

She walked over to him and lowered herself into her vacant seat, reaching for her punch and smiling like she had just won the lottery (another phrase he had learned from her. The lottery was apparently a very big thing in America). "Did you have fun?" He asked huskily, his eyes raking sinfully over her form, and he both hated himself for it and couldn't seem to look away. Her skin was beautiful, smooth and soft looking but occasionally marred by a small scar here or there. She had explained that she was very active as a child, and therefore often fell off of bikes or out of trees or got into scraps at school. She had a few stretch marks around her hips, evidence of her previous weight problem she had mentioned to him, but he couldn't see them as anything other than beautiful, just like the rest of her. Her arms and face were slightly more tan than the rest of her, as she usually wore jeans with tee shirts, and there was a small vein just below her knee that he could now see was broken, no doubt from the various physical sports and training she took part in. He knew all of the prissy, privileged people around him would consider all of these small traits to be flaws, but he thought they added to her character. They showed the hard, unforgiving life she had lived and overcome. They all showed that she was _real_ , and he wanted nothing more than to just reach up and run his fingers over all of them. _But that would be incredibly inappropriate._

"Yeah. I love dancing, and hula is really fun. Plus I got this bitching lei. Look, it's made out of real orchids." She lifted it closer so he could see it, and he caught a glimpse of his newest discovery. "What does your tattoo say?" He asked abruptly. Her gaze moved to his and she smiled. "It says 'To err is Human, but to forgive is Divine'. It's a Shakespeare quote." He felt that couldn't be more fitting for the girl in front of him. She had obviously suffered at the hands of others, but strove to forgive them for their shortcomings, and she acknowledged that she herself had made her own share of mistakes. She also had no problem admitting that she would make more in the future. She was the most real and poetic person he had ever known.

####

Daria sat in her room, reviewing the chapter they had been covering in Japanese History that week. The feudal era fascinated her, but the text could definitely strive to be a little more engaging. It read like a damn phone book. Sighing, she flipped the book closed and leaned back in her chair, rubbing her temples in frustration. Her head was beginning to hurt and she was getting hungry. Everyone was away dealing with business matters again, as she had grown accustomed to, and this time the cook had gone with them. She didn't mind, though. She missed cooking for herself. She felt like a slouch, having someone cook all her meals for her.

Adjusting her gray hoodie, she rose from her seat and headed out the door of her room, being sure to grab her mp3 player on the way. Once she had made it to the kitchen, she plugged it into the speakers that sat on the corner of the counter and pressed play. The sounds of Italian Pop music filled the air, and for a moment she sang along. She had no idea what the words meant, as she was not familiar with either Italian, or Spanish, which was close enough to be able to clue her in even a little, but it had a good beat and she had memorized the foreign lyrics.

She busied herself around the kitchen, grabbing ingredients and various utensils she would need. A simple chicken spaghetti dish would hit the spot and not take too long to prepare, and she found herself extremely excited. Since getting there, she had mainly only eaten the Asian dishes the cook prepared. They were all wonderful and she loved them, but she missed other food. She chopped the chicken and minced the garlic before throwing it into the pan she had preheated, moving it around occasionally to make sure it didn't burn, when suddenly a throat clearing behind her startled her. She spun around and lashed out with her wooden spoon, coming face to face with a very startled Tetsuya, who was trying to shield himself from her attack.

"Jesus, Tetsuya! Don't scare me like that!" She scolded him. "I almost beat you half to death with a wooden cooking utensil. You need to be careful." He quickly agreed, promising to make more noise next time he entered a room she was in. "Is there something you needed?" She asked him. "No, not in particular. I just walked by the kitchen on my way to bring the young lord his laundry when I smelled something good. What are you making?"

Daria's cheeks tinted slightly at the inadvertent compliment. "Chicken Spaghetti. Nothing fancy. I just really wanted pasta." Since she had moved there, she had convinced the cook to start buying a few foods that she put on her own shopping list for occasions such as this, and she was very glad that he had agreed. "Well it looks amazing. May I have a taste when it's done?" He asked her, looking hopeful. "Of course! You, Ritsu and I are the only ones here right now. It would be incredibly ass-holish of me to only make myself some and leave the two of you to fend for yourselves. I don't know how to cook small either. I always make way more than I can handle on my own." The blond man smiled and bowed to her slightly, thanking her and turning to finish his errand.

By this time, the water had finally begun to boil and the song had changed to a Lady Gaga number. She simply smiled and returned to her self-appointed task, stirring in the sauce and bringing it to a simmer as the pasta cooked. Her mouth was watering at the prospect of Italian food, no matter how basic, and she hummed along to the song, thinking to herself that Lady Gaga had too many men in her life. " _Alejandro, Fernando, Roberto. She needed to sort out her priorities._ "

####

Ritsu greedily slurped the pasta into his mouth, trying to focus on what Daria was talking about, but failing as he wiped tomato sauce from his chin. "So you see, the comma is like a momentary pause, while the semi-colon is used to tack on a bit more information to the end of a complete thought. It's both a comma _and_ a period. See?" Learning English was definitely hard. It was the weirdest language he had ever seen and it had a lot of ridiculous rules that made it difficult to know if he was saying _anything_ properly. " _Just what the hell does 'whom' mean anyway?"_ Daria was a good sensei though. She was patient and explained things in a way that made it very easy to understand.

"That was delicious." He told her once his bowl had become empty. Other than the burger he had eaten at the mall, he couldn't remember the last time he hadn't eaten something that wasn't considered Japanese, and the dish Daria had sat in front of him randomly was absolutely amazing. Who knew pasta could taste so good?

"Where did you learn to cook?" He asked her, not missing the way her eyes became downcast. "Before the state took me from my mom, I used to spend a lot of time with my grandmother. She was an amazing cook, and she always made me watch her and help her when she cooked. She said it was a skill I would need all my life and that, if I could master it, I'd be able to take even the simplest of ingredients and make them into something worth serving in a pinch. She was completely right and I couldn't be more grateful." The sad hint to her voice made Ritsu's heart clench. "If you don't mind me asking, what happened to her? Shouldn't you have gone to live with her instead of a foster home?"

She smiled sadly at him. "The reason we ended up in Washington was because my grandmother suffered a massive heart attack due to her pre-existing health problems and the stress my mother put on her. My mother ran wild and sometimes didn't come back for weeks at a time, never calling to let her know that she was still alive or that she was coming back at all. When my grandmother died, my mother realized she had no one else she could mooch off of and took to moving us around by way of hitch hiking and pan handling." The insight into Daria's past was nothing short of tragic, and Ritsu, in the heat of the moment, reached out and pulled the girl against him in a tight embrace. He would always protect her and provide for her. He made a promise to himself that she would never know that kind of uncertainty again, and he sighed softly as her body melded against his, curling up against him, resting her head on his shoulder and humming the tune of a Beatles song he had heard her listen to often. " _I'll take care of you. I promise._ "


	5. Chapter 5

**Warning: This chapter touches on domestic abuse**

Chapter 5

"OK, Next question: What was the objective set by the Charter of the United Nations?" Ritsu asked, reading the material from the paper held in his hand. "To establish conditions under which justice and respect for the obligations arising from treaties and other sources of international law can be maintained. It can be found in the Preamble." "Correct. Next Question." Daria was pacing around the floor of her room, reciting from memory the answers to every question on the pre-test that she had already reviewed at least twenty times. She was beyond nervous for her first exam in her International Law class and Ritsu had offered to help her study, as they had often found themselves doing for each other in the past few weeks. So now, two hours later, he was sprawled across her bed lazily, bored beyond all belief, the words he was reciting going in one ear and out the other as he watched her fidget.

"Alright." He interrupted her. "You know this stuff inside and out. Can we please do something interesting now?" He asked, flinging the paper down beside him and rubbing his eyes. She sighed and flopped down next to him. "Yeah, I guess you're right. What did you have in mind?" She queried, not having the slightest clue as to what sounded like an appealing activity in that moment. "I don't know. Something. Anything. Just please no more school. It's Saturday night." Suddenly she got an idea in her head. A mischievous, evil idea and grinned, glancing up at her counterpart. He had his eyes closed and both of his hands were propped behind his head. Swiftly, she swung a leg up and over him so that she was straddling his waist and leaned in close to his ear. In that same instant, her voice had dropped to a husky whisper and she breathed out, "Tell me baby, what would you _like_ to do?"

Ritsu's entire body stiffened beneath her and his eyes bulged out of his head. His skin instantly flushed the most brilliant shade of crimson she had ever seen it and he squeaked, actually _squeaked_ in an attempt to say something, _anything_ in return. But he clearly didn't know what to say, and even if he did, the fact that he was hyperventilating and seemed to be choking on nothing as he sputtered noises that didn't actually form real words made it obvious that he wouldn't be able to say it anyway. Daria died just then, laughing so hard she fell the opposite way and rolled off of not only him, but the bed as well. She didn't care though, as she was too busy clutching her stomach with both arms and screaming with laughter so loudly that a few of the men actually came running down the hallway and burst through the door, guns at the ready before they realized what was going on.

Ritsu shot up in his spot on the bed and put his hands up as if he were approaching a skittish animal, shouting for them not to shoot and that everything was fine. His face was still flushed though and they looked back and forth between the two teenagers before realizing the young lord and his bride to be were in no danger. It was clear to them now what had happened, as many of them had been witness to at least one instance where the blue-haired American had mercilessly teased their future boss for the sake of a good laugh. It _was_ pretty funny, but none of them would admit that for fear of further embarrassing and possibly angering the young man.

"Y-Yeah guys! We're goo-HAHA! We're good!" The girl gasped from her position on the floor, tears streaming down her face from her fit. The men nodded and backed out of the room slowly, shutting the door before Ritsu turned to glare down at the girl hard. "Would you not do that to me?!" He yelled indignantly, scrunching his face in annoyance. Daria's laughter sobered down to a persistent giggle as she pulled herself up off the floor to sit cross-legged in front of the boy.

"Well now why would I do that when you keep reacting that way? It's just way too funny _not_ to!" Her stomach was definitely going to be sore from how hard she had been laughing, but it was well worth it. All of the stress she had been experiencing because of that exam had left her beyond frazzled and she had really needed a good laugh. "Because you're gonna give me a damn heart attack, that's why!"

"Oh don't be so dramatic, Ritsu. It can't be as bad as you're making it out to be. I haven't even done anything beyond whispering to you. Hell I may as well say 'Hail Hydra' with how much I whisper in your ear." She giggled at her own joke. "That doesn't matter. You keep doing that and I have no idea what I'm supposed to do! You're gonna end up killing me!"

She suddenly got a curious look on her face. "You seriously don't know what to do? Have you never been close to a girl before?" The confusion she was experiencing was massive. He was a good looking, kindhearted guy. She thought for sure that he had been swimming in girls before she had arrived, despite the fact that he was somewhat of a loner and had a "scary" face. Mori was both of those things and he practically had to beat women off of him with a bat.

"No, for your information, I haven't. You are literally one of two girls to ever speak more than two sentences to me and you're _definitely_ the _only_ one that has gotten any semblance of physically close to me." A sad look settled on his features and her heart broke for him. This guy, the guy who loved animals and had a serious green thumb (she had seen him tending to a few of the potted plants that were around the house), the guy who went shopping with her when he knew nothing about her, the guy who held her in the grass and took care of her when she was hurt, seriously had never had a girlfriend?

"Hey, look at me." she reached out and gently placed a hand on his cheek, causing his eyes to lift to hers in surprise. "I know it doesn't mean much at this point, but anyone would be lucky to have you in their lives. I know I am. You're kind, you're damn attractive, and you're a good man. All the girls who ever dismissed you are idiots and have no clue what they're missing out on." He was left speechless, looking at her in wonderment as she spoke. No one had ever spoken so kindly to him and she made it very clear that she meant every word. When she was done with her little speech, she sat there observing him for a minute before she leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on his cheek, letting her lips linger there a brief moment. Ritsu really didn't know what to do. A burning warmth spread from the point where her skin met his and he found himself hoping it would never go away. All too soon though, she pulled back and started chewing on her lip, swinging her legs over the edge of the bed. She extended a hand to him and he just stared at it, focusing on the tingling sensation where her lips had just been. "Come on, weirdo. Let's go get something to eat. I'm starving." It took him a moment to react, but finally he just slipped his hand into hers and allowed her to drag him to the kitchen, reliving in his mind every detail of what had just happened.

####

Ritsu checked to make sure the coast was clear before he slipped through the door and shut it quickly behind him. Music Room #3 looked very different from when he had last been there, watching Daria dance in a grass skirt and eating cake with Haninozuka. The Host Club was closed for business today and Daria had opted to spend some time in one of the libraries so she could take part in a study group that met for her Calculus class. She was really smart. Way smarter than he could ever dream to be, so he had taken no time in encouraging her to meet with her classmates. They were in the same class as far as the school's sorting system went, but she was way beyond him in intellect and therefore took classes that surpassed his. She had mentioned many times during their talks that something had happened to make her want to be better than the path she had been on and to do that, she had her eyes set on becoming a lawyer, and he would support her in every way he could to help her achieve that goal. And besides, her being busy with that and the Host Club not entertaining mindless girls meant it was the perfect opportunity for him to pay them a visit and ask a favor.

"Oh, hey Bossanova. What brings you here today? We aren't taking guests right now." Haruhi was the first to notice him and had made her way over to where he stood. "I know." He replied sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. He had gotten so used to having Daria by his side when dealing with this band of monkeys that he was feeling extremely nervous now being there on his own. "I was actually here to talk to Suoh. I need some... Ugh... I need some advice." As if they had been spying, which was probably _exactly_ what they had been doing, the blond boy leapt from out of nowhere, his two red-headed henchmen at his heel, and landed next to him dramatically. "Oh is it true, Haruhi! Has Casanova come to see moi?" The hyper guy bounced in joy as the twins cheered in the background, obviously excited at having something interesting to do. Ritsu only groaned and proceeded to walk over to a pillar and bang his head against it in anguish at what he was about to say. "Suoh-Senpai. I need your help." The scary looking teenager visibly gulped, fully aware of what he was about to put himself through. "I need to know how to get a girl to like me..." Tamaki exploded.

####

Daria meandered distractedly down the halls toward Music Room #3. Her study group had worked for about an hour and a half and she was now on her way to grab Ritsu. She had been delighted when he mentioned that he was going to see the Host Club to talk to them about something, Lord knows the guy needed more friends in his life (not that she was one to talk), but she was also mentally preparing herself for the various types of shenanigans that she was bound to stumble upon when she opened that door. She prayed it was something as amazing as the Kitty Maid story he had mentioned.

Just down the hall from her destination, though, she passed by a door that was cracked but seemed to have no light coming from within the room. That fact coupled with the ominous music that poured out from the darkness peaked her interest and she had no choice but to investigate. Well... She did have a choice, but this one had the potential to be so much more fun. Without opening the door any further, she double-oh-sevened her way into the room and waited a second for her eyes to adjust to the dark. There was just enough light coming from the hall and a few candles that were lit to see that there was a single figure sitting at some type of altar muttering something in what sounded to be Latin. Silently, she crept up behind the cloaked figure and leaned over its shoulder for a second, observing them before she broke the silence. "Whatcha doing?"

"AHH!" the figure jumped about ten feet in the air and let out a high-pitched yelp from what was obviously an otherwise deep voice. She chuckled at the sight before backing a respectful distance away and waiting for the person to gather their wits. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you that bad. I just heard the music and got curious. I'm Daria Engebretson." She introduced herself, flipping her once-again faded blue hair out of her face and extending a hand for them to decide to take or reject. Timidly, the figure slid something off of their hand and grabbed hers. It was extremely soft and warm as they shook hands quickly, but she had no feelings of longing when they parted like she did when she and Ritsu held hands. "I am Umehito Nekozawa, president of the Black Magic Club." This definitely spiked her interest, firstly because the figure had a very creepy, ghoulish voice that just sounded absolutely awesome and reminded her of classic horror films, which she _loved_ , and secondly because _Ouran had a black magic club?_

"Well that sounds extremely fascinating. Does your club actually practice the dark arts, or just study them?" She asked, fully immersed in her wonder. She had always been fascinated by the Occult and everything to do with it. Every year for Halloween she dressed up as a witch until she had turned ten and she had read countless books on Salem and different types of magic and gypsies and pretty much anything that sought to use the forces of the universe to do your bidding. When she was younger she had thought that if she learned enough, she would be able to cast a spell on her mother to get her to stop doing drugs and be like the warm, kind moms she saw on television.

"We do both. Are you interested in joining us? We always have room for new members. It is just me here today but everyone would be thrilled to meet the American with an interest in the Occult." God, his voice was just amazing. Was that his real voice? Or did he practice that in the mirror every night? "Oh no, I've got far too much on my plate to be joining any clubs. But I will admit that this would be my first choice now that I know it exists. I'm not sure how good I'd be at it though. I've got more of a scientific belief system." The boy, Umehito, chuckled and it sent shivers down her spine, making her want to jump in excitement. "Very well then. Hopefully in the future you will be able to find time to join." She smiled at him, wondering if he could even see her in such a dark room with that hood over his head.

"So do you always hang out in the dark, then?" she asked curiously, noticing he was rubbing his left arm under his cloak. "Yes. I can't be in the light." It suddenly clicked. He was photosensitive. It made sense that he would be the head of a dark arts club and acted like a prince of the night, considering he physically couldn't _not_ be in the dark. "Oh, I see. Is your arm OK?" She asked, reaching out to grab his wrist gently and pull it to where she could see it. Unfortunately, the dim lighting didn't give her a good view. Humming to herself in thought for a moment, she made quick work of pulling some tape and colored sharpies out of her bag. The cloaked boy watched her in fascinated confusion as she put a few pieced of tape over the lens of a flashlight she had and colored it in with a red marker, then put another layer and colored it with blue.

"Aha!" She exclaimed, seeming impressed with herself as she grabbed his arm again and gently yanked it forward, turning on the flashlight to shine over his arm. It was perfectly bright enough for her to get a good look at him, but the tint job she had done filtered the beam so that it wouldn't harm his skin. She frowned when she saw that he had severe hives all over his arm. "Dear lord, what happened?" She asked, searching out his eyes but spotting instead a lock of blond hair beneath what she now realized was a wig. "My little sister ran out the door this morning and I forgot to put on my cloak before I went out to grab her." He chuckled darkly to himself, and she suddenly had a new admiration for the boy she had just met. He had no problem putting his little sister before his physical well-being. " _Well someone's gotta take care of him too._ " She thought to herself, deciding that that someone may as well be her for the moment.

She reached into her bag again and pulled out a small bottle. "Here, pull off your armor, stud. Let me get a good look." He wasn't sure about it, but he did as she told him and removed not only his cloak but his wig as well. She was impressed to discover he was actually quite handsome in a classic storybook kind of way and smiled at him encouragingly. That is, until she saw the hives extended onto the left side of his face and on his other arm as well. "Jeez, man. That's bad." She whistled lowly and flipped the cap on the bottle, squirting some of its contents into her palm and gently applying the soothing substance to his skin. She worked meticulously for a few minutes before capping the bottle and placing it into his hand. "Here. This is a medicated cortisone lotion that has green tea and aloe extracts in it. I buy it in bulk because my tattoos are sensitive, so you can have this bottle. Those hives should go away in a day or two if you apply that stuff about three times a day."

The boy sighed in relief at finally having a reprieve from the burning itch he had been experiencing all day and smiled a huge, genuine smile at the selflessly kind stranger that stood before him. "Thank you, very much. I am in your debt, my lady." He bowed to her in a manner similar to how she imagined Dracula would bow to a woman he fancied and she blushed. "It's nothing, really. Like I said, I have tons of the stuff and someone who's willing to endure that crap just to make sure his sister is OK definitely deserves to be as comfortable as possible."

"Thank you, regardless. Are you sure you can't join the black magic club? I could throw in a free Beelzenef puppet for you." Daria snorted at this and shook her head. "Wow, you are a huge weirdo. I love it. You and I are going to be great friends, I can already tell." Daria hated playing the friend-zone card, but she had to cover all her bases. She was with Ritsu, even though their relationship didn't exactly have clear lines, and she was bound by contract to be faithful to him anyway. Umehito, however, didn't seem fazed and in fact smiled at her, his shadow-covered blue eyes seeming to light up at the prospect of having a real friend. " _God, what am I? A magnet for lonely dudes?"_

"Anyway," She continued, smiling back at her new friend, "Nah, I'm sure. Maybe some day. But in the mean time, we could definitely hang out. I'm sure you're just a huge epicenter for all things dark and mysteriously entertaining." He placed his wig and cloak back on and walked with her to the door. "I would like that very much, lady Daria. Thank you." The pair smiled at each other and the girl slipped out the door, careful once again to not let too much light in and headed off in the direction of Music Room #3.

"Oh what fresh hell is this?"she muttered to herself, sweat-dropping at the sight that awaited her. She had let herself in unannounced to find Ritsu had somehow been coerced into a ridiculous period piece outfit that made him look like a seventeenth century french patriarch, complete with a powdered wig, and he was sat across a table from a creepy faceless mannequin that was dressed in a ball gown. Tamaki was fussing over something Ritsu was apparently doing wrong, the twins were scribbling on a board what appeared to be a football play but was apparently the mechanics of somehow landing a kiss on someone, Mori and Honey were acting as butlers for the ridiculously dressed pair at the table, Haruhi was shaking her head at the sight and Kyoya was typing away furiously on a laptop, refusing to have anything to do with what was happening.

"Um, what exactly did you come here to talk to them about? Because it seems without me you get to play dress-up a lot. Is there something I should know?" She asked dryly, crossing her arms and cocking her eyebrow in amusement. Her companion turned bright red and shook his head in her direction, leaping up and running over toward her. "Nope. Not a single thing to see here and there's nothing weird to know about." He said the words in a rush as he shoved her back out into the hall and slammed the door behind her. She merely huffed and tapped her foot, waiting for it to be opened again, which it was a moment later, giving her a view of a very exasperated Haruhi.

"The past couple of hours have been interesting, to say the least." She muttered to the American girl. Daria merely nodded her head and took a seat on one of the couches, smiling when Honey ran over and jumped in her lap as if she were Santa. She made idle chatter with the small boy and Haruhi as Mori contented himself with observing, Tamaki and the twins argued over something ridiculous and Kyoya remained in his own little world. A few minutes later, Ritsu returned to the room, once again in his uniform and rubbing the back of his neck. Daria rolled her eyes at him as she lifted Honey from her lap and handed him to Mori. "Come on, Casablanca. We need to be getting home." She giggled, grabbing his hand and trying to ignore the tingles that ran up her arm at the contact. This was the feeling she hadn't felt when she had shaken Umehito's hand. This was a feeling she couldn't seem to get enough of. The red-head stayed quiet as she drug him from the room. "Bye, guys!" She called out behind her, which was met with a chorus of cheery goodbyes as she shut the door. "So then, how was your evening?" She asked him. He only groaned and proceeded to tell her about it, being careful to leave out any details that might clue her in as to the reason he had gone to the Host Club in the first place.

####

"Alright students. I'm going to pass out your exams from last week. There has been improvement, but it's not where I hoped we would be." Ritsu doodled as his English Language instructor passed out the papers. When everyone had theirs, they got up to go to break. "Kasanoda-san, can I have a word with you?" The teacher called as he was about to shove the document into his bag without looking at it and leave. "Um, sure." Internally, he freaked out a little. But only a little. He must have done something wrong, but for the life of him he couldn't figure out what.

"You did remarkably well on your exam, Kasanoda-san. You got the highest score of all of my students." This made Ritsu's eyebrows shoot up as he hurriedly dug his test out of his bag to look at it. Sure enough, right there at the top in bright red was his score: 98%. "I must say over the past couple of months you have improved drastically. More so than you ever have, I discovered after I looked up your past grades." Ritsu rubbed the back of his neck, uncomfortable with the praise. "Thank you, Sensei. I've been having some one-on-one tutoring sessions. I think they've really helped." This peaked the petite woman's interest.

"Oh really? Do you mind telling me who they are? I would like to contact them about possibly helping a few other students. Do they work at a professional tutoring center?" The woman hurriedly grabbed a pen and paper, as if readying herself to take down contact information. "It's not really like that." He was slightly offended that she thought it took a professional to get him a good grade. "I'm not paying someone to tutor me, I'm just getting help from-" Ritsu was interrupted by a knock on the door and both of their heads turned to meet Daria who was looking like she hoped to God she wasn't interrupting anything important. " _Well speak of the devil..."_ he thought to himself. "Excuse me. I just wanted to know if Ritsu was going to be able to join me for lunch today or if he was busy." She explained, holding up her packed lunch as a reference.

Before the instructor could say anything in return to the American girl she had never seen before, Ritsu spoke up. "Um, Sensei, this is Daria Engebretson, my English tutor." A light bulb seemed to go off over the older woman's head as she turned to the blue-haired girl, who had taken to biting her lip nervously. "Well, Kasanoda-san, I must say I am impressed. Capitalizing on the American student for help in their native language is a brilliant idea. I can't believe I didn't think of it myself. Excuse me, Engebretson-san, could you come here for a second?" Ritsu sweat-dropped at the instructor's rather tactless comment. He wasn't _capitalizing_ on Daria! She was just helping him because that's what they did for each other! They helped the other out with whatever they needed because they were friends and they were...

Ritsu blushed as he reminded himself that he had come to like the American that lived in his home. They were set to be married but he wanted to woo her properly as if they had simply met and didn't have a contract binding them to each other. He had gone to he Host Club because he wanted Daria to like him back. He wanted her to _want_ to be with him for the rest of her life, not feel obligated because she needed some way to pay for school. She had already made such a positive impact on his life and he wanted to do the same for her. He wanted to help her with her troubles and rejoice with her in her triumphs the way she did for him. He wanted her to want to be married to him just like he had come to want to be married to her...

"So you see, your lessons have been extremely effective and I was wondering if you could maybe help out a few more students?" Ritsu was pulled from his thoughts and focused on the conversation his instructor was having with the girl that he spent his evenings with. "Well, you see, I'm flattered that you have so much faith in me, but the only reason I really have time between all of my own homework to help Ritsu is because we live together so he is already there and we are already helping each other. If you want though, my period before this break is a free period. I usually spend it in the library trying to study, but I just end up listening to music anyway so I could come in here and help you with your lessons instead?" The older woman's eyes lit up in excitement at the prospect.

"That is a wonderful idea! You could help explain things so they make more sense and help the students with their assignments! Oh the possibilities! I'll go straight to the office and speak to the vice-principal about it. Thank you very much, Engebretson-San. I will contact you when I know all the details." The excited woman hurriedly grabbed a bunch of papers and rushed out the door, chattering to herself a million miles a second, leaving the two teenagers alone in the class room looking at each other searching for confirmation. "OK then, I guess I'm the new aide for your class. Interesting. I wonder if I can put this down on my resume as volunteer service." Daria offered, breaking the silence.

"I don't know. Probably. Most likely." Ritsu responded, jumping for joy on the inside at the thought of getting to spend even more time with the girl. Today was shaping up to be pretty decent. "Since we're already in here, do you just wanna eat here?" He asked her. "Yeah that sounds good. Did you really get an A on your exam?" She sat down and looked at him expectantly as she opened her food, popping a rice ball into her mouth. "Yeah, I did! My first one in English ever! Look!" The boy excitedly showed the crumpled document to his companion, overjoyed and proud of himself, which was met with praise from the girl. The break continued on, the two of them eating and talking about random things, enjoying each others company.

####

She was hiding under a pile of clothes in her closet, trying to keep her breathing steady and not make a single word. The air was filled with the sound of crashes and yells as the two adults downstairs fought. The man had come home completely shit-faced drunk again, just the same as every other night, and he and his wife proceeded to scream at each other, as was customary, only tonight they had started throwing punches. And lamps. And empty beer bottles. And pretty much anything else they could lift. Daria rocked back and forth, wishing she could be anywhere but there in that moment. Anxiety gripped her and tears streamed down her face as she clamped her hands over her ears and squeezed her eyes as tightly as she could shut them, hoping the fight would stay downstairs.

Daria shot up in bed, breathing heavily as she looked around, picking out every detail of her room and counting off the things she recognized until she had convinced herself that she was safe, in her home, in Japan, and _not_ back in one of her many foster homes. Panting, she wiped the sweat and tears from her face and glanced back at the clock, seeing it was four in the morning. _"Well I'm definitely not going back to sleep after that._ " Sighing, she flung the duvet off of herself and got up, searching for her yoga pants and sneakers, fully intent on heading to the gym. Once she was dressed, she grabbed her mp3 player and headed out, smiling at the loud snoring that was coming from behind Ritsu's door as she passed. " _He's lucky."_ she thought to herself somewhat bitterly. She would give anything to not have the nightmares any more. She was in a new country, living a new, successful life. So why was her past still haunting her? She didn't need this crap. Her life was busy enough without having to worry about the boogeyman throwing bad memories into her head while she slept.

She put on some thrash metal and began to pound on the punching bag, not even bothering with warming up. She needed to get all of her frustrations out and quickly before she snapped and broke something. That memory was one of the worst, for the simple fact that the fight _hadn't_ stayed downstairs. The woman had run to the kitchen and called the cops, but not before the man had stumbled up to the second level, hauled ten-year-old Daria out of her hiding place and beaten her so badly that her entire body was one big, bloody bruise. She was in intensive care for two weeks because he had given her a concussion and broken multiple bones, one of which was a rib that punctured her left lung. The scar from the emergency surgery to repair it ran up her back from her waist to the middle of her rib cage, over which the tattoo Ritsu had asked about that day in the Host Club now sat.

Daria had almost died that night, and a few times over the next few days following thanks to her being severely underweight because those people hardly fed her anything, all because Child Protective Services had placed her with them, who both had drinking problems and a history of domestic violence. That was what she hated most about being in the system. No one cared about her. To the state of Washington, she was just another number that needed to be put somewhere so that she was out of everyone's hair. Sure, her mother didn't care much about her either, but at least she had used to have her grandma before she died. Her grandma cared about her. Why couldn't anyone else?

Feeling winded, Daria realized she had forgotten to wrap her hands, the result of which now being that her knuckles were severely bloody and raw, throbbing and shaking when she tried to hold her hands still. She whined and slumped to the floor, letting silent tears fall from her eyes as she relived every moment of that night, wishing over and over again someone had come to save her. Once the cops had arrived and arrested both of the adults, it took them a good fifteen minutes of shooting the shit and just generally bullshitting around downstairs for them to decide to do a final sweep the house and found her, lying in the middle of the floor, bordering on unconscious and bleeding out right there on the rug. All because a case worker had put her under their care.

Daria didn't know how long she laid there, crying and holding her bloody hands out in front of her, feeling numb, but the next thing she knew Ritsu was in front of her freaking out and shouting, trying to get her to hear him. She whimpered and threw her arms around him, sobbing into his chest as he held her close, calling for someone to get a car ready to take her to a hospital.

####

"We have her sedated for now, so she is sleeping." The doctor informed the men that were packed into the waiting room like a can of sardines. It was a smaller room and was full of men, Ritsu, his father and Koh included. "She appears to have suffered a severe anxiety attack triggered by a memory or dream, and the lacerations to her hands are a result of her repeatedly hitting the punching bag without any gloves or other form of protection. I'm going to recommend she remain under observation for the next few days and that she attend weekly therapy sessions for the next month or more. Just looking at her chart, I am surprised no one has put her in therapy before now."

Lee-Fu thanked the man and turned to his son. "Do you know what caused this, son?" he asked somberly. The teenager only shook his head, looking to the ground and clenching his fists at his sides. "I have no idea. I think she has nightmares. They've woken her up a few times. But she's never been this bad from what I've seen." The older men both nodded at Ritsu and walked off to discuss something with a nurse, probably getting a list of possible therapists they could take the girl to. Ritsu only sighed and ran his hand over his face in a defeated manner. _"What triggered this? Why did she not wrap her hands before she attacked the punching bag? Was she always this bad off after a bad dream?"_

He suddenly took off out the door, heading down the hall to Daria's room. She was sleeping, but guests were allowed to see her and he didn't want to be anywhere but by her side in that moment. She was laying on her side, curled up into as tight a ball as she could possibly be. The heart monitor next to her bed beeped in steady rhythm and her hands, which were clenched into fists were heavily wrapped in bandages. The sight broke him. He never wanted to see her wounded in a hospital bed again. He couldn't bare it.

He pulled the chair up next to her bed and sat down, reaching up to rub soft circles on the back of her shoulder, remembering how she had rubbed his neck and shoulders when he was feeling stressed out because of that girl that was visiting the Host Club. The entire time he had known her, Ritsu had never seen Daria anything other than strong, and now, seeing her in a hospital bed, drugged and curled into the fetal position, all because of a nightmare... It hurt him. This was the girl he thought about obsessively when she wasn't with him, the girl who danced crazily and ran into walls and cooked him dinner when the cook wasn't home. The girl who taught him English and embarrassed him to high hell and gave him heart palpitations because she wanted a laugh. What had her dream been about to put her here?

He resolved that he would ask her when she woke up, if he thought she could take it without it sending her into another episode. She was by no means weak or fragile, but she was in a sensitive state and he needed to take care of her again, like he had when she had been hit by that dodge ball. He needed to make her OK again. He needed to make her happy again. That was his mission. He needed to help the girl he liked get better. And he would do whatever it took to do that.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

"I'm fine, Ritsu. Really. You don't need to keep looking at me like I'm going to break into a million pieces at any moment." Daria sighed, rolling over in her bed so she wasn't facing the red-head, who was propped up against her headboard. Ever since they had gotten home from the hospital, he had been doting on her and it was beginning to drive her crazy. A sense of dejavu struck her as she thought about when she had been hit by that dodge ball. She was amazed at how someone who could literally look at a person and make them wet themselves could be so incredibly motherly.

Then again... This was Ritsu. He really was the human equivalent of a marshmallow. He nursed birds back to health and spent his down time re-potting azaleas. One day she had been walking by and overheard him actually talking to one of his plants, telling it about his day. He said the extra stimulation helped them grow.

"I know. I know... I just... You really scared me. I know I don't know a lot about you and you don't really know a lot about me still, but in the short time I've known you, I've come to care about you a lot. I can't imagine my life without you in it anymore." His deep voice was rough and he reached out to rub her shoulder, his eyes closed as he rested his head against the wall holding him up. Daria felt a tear slip down her face. She felt horrible for putting everyone through all of this just because she couldn't keep a cap on her emotions. The past was the past, there was no changing it. Yet it continued to affect her. She had scared herself, really. Waking up in a hospital bed made the dream she had had all the more real, reminding her of being in that same situation after that night had commenced. She hated hospitals. Every time she was in one, it was because she was hurt and broken and a burden to everyone around her.

"Your first therapy appointment is tomorrow." Ritsu's voice interrupted her self-loathing. "Koh told me when I went to get your food. It's at two, so you don't need to feel rushed to wake up early or anything." Daria hadn't woken up before noon since she had had her little episode. The sedatives the hospital had given her mixed with her mental exhaustion and the fact that she couldn't work out anyway thanks to Doctor's orders left her feeling like there wasn't even a point. Honestly, it made her feel awful. She hated sleeping in. She hated mornings, but sleeping in left her feeling sluggish and unproductive and she was too active a person to be able to deal with that. But depression did funny things to people.

"Hey, Ritsu..." She whispered after a few minutes of silence. He hummed in reply, letting her know he was listening but never opening his eyes or halting the steady motion of his hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry. I never meant to let this side of me affect any of you."

####

Ritsu contemplated her statement, continuing to rub her shoulder as he turned his head and opened his eyes to look down at her form. She was always such a strong person. He had only ever seen her be sassy and confident. Finding her crying on the gym floor with her hands a bloody mess had scared the hell out of him. He had never been more terrified in his life; not because he thought anything life threatening had happened to her, but because his mind had jumped to possible future scenarios where something more drastic happened. And because he never wanted to see her hurt.

But she _was_ hurt. And not because of a punching bag. She was suffering at the hands of a past he had yet to learn of. She was suffering alone. He wanted to change that. He wanted to take all of her pain away and make it so she only ever smiled that beautiful smile and laughed at her own corny pop culture jokes and at how she made him all hot and bothered. He wanted to help fix the broken girl he had found in the gym, and he was scared because he didn't know how.

Ritsu then moved so he was laying down behind her and wrapped his arm around her, pulling her back to his chest and holding her. She only wriggled so that she was more comfortable and placed her bandaged hand on top of his, rubbing circles on it with her thumb absentmindedly. "You don't have to tell me what happened if you don't want to. Or if you can't handle it." He whispered into the back of her uncombed, faded hair. "I don't want you doing anything that would upset you more. But... What happened?" She sighed, her rib cage rising and falling with the action, and he just knew she was chewing on her bottom lip. One minute went by. Then two. Then three. "Like I said, you don't have to tell me. It's completely optional." He continued, filling the silence.

"I have nightmares almost every night." She said quietly, her voice thick with a sob that hadn't come up yet. "The only time I don't have them is when you're with me. I don't know what it is about you, but you scare off the bad dreams." His hold on her tightened briefly, his mind whirling with this new information. He wondered if that meant she cared about him too, that she wanted him around her. That he made her feel safe. "When I was ten I was in a foster home. Both of my foster parents were heavy drinkers and they were mean drunks." She went on, getting ever so slightly quieter with every word. "One night they were particularly bad off and they started fighting. Like _really_ fighting. And after a while I guess she got bored because she finally called the cops. But while she was doing it, he came upstairs and started hitting me." Her voice broke and she did nothing but cry, her body heaving with every sob. Ritsu quickly, gently, oh so gently rolled her over and wrapped both of his arms around her, holding her to him as she cried into his chest.

"When the cops were finally done screwing around they came upstairs and found me laying in the floor, covered in bruises and drowning in my own blood. The tattoo you saw... It covers a scar where the surgeon had to go in and fix where my rib had punctured my lung." She spit the statement with a heavy amount of venom and gripped a handful of his shirt in her wrapped hand. "I didn't even do anything wrong... He almost killed me and I didn't do anything wrong..." Ritsu felt sick to his stomach. The hurt in her voice and the thought of anyone laying a hand on his Daria angered him beyond anything he had ever felt.

 _His Daria..._

"No. You didn't do anything wrong. But I promise nothing will ever happen to you again. I'll always protect you." Ritsu stroked her hair and held her tightly to him, feeling like he was about to cry as well. He would die before he let anything happen to the girl in his arms. She had quickly become his everything and she didn't even know it.

####

"Alright, well your file is... Rather extensive. But we aren't going to worry about what that says. I want you to choose what we talk about. Whatever you want." Daria's therapist, M. Watana, a middle aged woman with a neatly styled bun and librarian's glasses spoke in a voice that was very well practiced. It was obviously designed to put the patient at ease, make them feel safe. It only made Daria more nervous. Nearly a decade in child protective services meant she spent more than her fair share of time sitting in rooms with school counselors and appointed psychologists. This was her first therapist, but it was essentially the same exact thing. The only difference was that this was the first one the American Government wasn't paying for, so she would actually have to talk so she didn't feel like she was wasting her new family's money.

"I didn't mean to hurt myself." She said quietly, picking at a loose thread on the worn couch. Watana remained quiet, looking right at Daria with an extreme interest, ready and willing to absorb every little detail about what she said and did. The silence was uncomfortable, and Daria knew that it was a tactic to get the patient to keep talking, but despite her best efforts, she couldn't _not_ fill the dead air between them. "My nightmares usually aren't that bad. I can normally handle them. I don't know what happened."

"And how do you handle them, Daria?" The question was simple, but prompted a very lengthy response. "When I finally wake up I look around me, counting the different things I can recognize until I can convince myself that I am in a safe place and that they can't hurt me anymore." OK, maybe the response wasn't all that lengthy, but to Daria, it felt like all the words in the world were in that sentence. "That is a very effective grounding technique. I recommend it to a lot of my patients, especially the ones with PTSD and anxiety problems."

"Is that what my file says? That I have PTSD and anxiety problems?" Daria asked, finally looking up into the doctor's eyes. "Like I said, your file isn't important." Daria interrupted the woman. "But _is that what it says?_ I really would love nothing more than to know exactly what all of those bored, uninterested assholes back in the states said about me but didn't have the balls to tell me to my face." Watana took note of Daria's biting tone and furrowed brow, how her shoulders tensed and her bandaged hands clenched into fists. This girl had a fire in her, a fire that no doubt caught when she was developing and figuring out who she was when she was running with her street gangs and throwing punches in illegal underground fighting rings, and obviously intensified with her decision to try and better her life. That fire was what fueled her motivation to keep persevering, even in this strange land surrounded by nothing familiar.

"If I tell you the diagnoses that are written in your file, will you tell me about your dream?" The doctor asked, going for the bargaining technique. Tit for tat. "You don't have to do that. I'm not being uncooperative. You obviously already know the nitty gritty details about my shady past. I have nothing to hide and no desire to try and do so." Daria hated this placating bullshit. She was a very direct person, and she didn't like people who beat around the bush and weaved complicated webs to try and get what they wanted. The doctor lowered her glasses and snapped the file open.

"Patient exhibits hostility toward authority, self-righteousness, and insubordinate, delinquent behavior, possibly stemming from her upbringing by a teenage single mother with an addiction to various narcotics and amphetamines. Patient suffers PTSD, starting after an incident in which an appointed guardian drunkenly beat her, near fatally. Patient also suffers body dysmorphia, fixating on her weight though she is within normal weight for her BMI." The doctor leaned back in her chair, looking toward her patient. "It goes on for pages describing different incidents you were involved in in your many foster homes, how many times you tried running away, your various arrests and the activities you took part in as a member of the Shadow Clan and the underground Seattle fighting scene. For a seventeen year old making straight A's at one of Japan's top academies, you certainly have a very interesting past."

Daria mulled all of the information over in her head. Everything she had said wasn't untrue. She hated authority figures (her new environment simply fostered a necessary higher respect for those currently in authoritative positions), she definitely felt like she was better than most of the people around her (IE. Oko), and she had the stereo typical past of a juvenile delinquent. That bit about having body dysmorphia she definitely didn't see coming, but it made sense. She hated her body, so she had spent years sculpting it into something she liked. She had finally achieved that goal, but kept at her exercise routine for fear of her new physique slipping.

"My dream was about that night that asshole almost killed me. I was ten years old, hiding in a fucking closet, and he came upstairs and beat me for no reason. I have nightmares almost every single night, but that one was so detailed that I felt like I was reliving it. I woke up, did my little "grounding technique" and proceeded with my normal morning routine, but when I got into the gym I snapped." Her heart had picked up the pace a little at having to recount the dream, but it was nothing to cause her any alarm.

"I see. What about the nights when you don't have the nightmares? Do you do anything differently those nights, or do you just get lucky every now and then?" The doctor was very bold in her wording. She had balls, Daria would give her that. Every other professional she had ever seen were too caught up trying to go by the book and not trigger anything or trying to be politically correct that whenever they actually said something, they didn't really say anything at all.

"Those are the nights when Ritsu sleeps with me. He and I study together a lot and sometimes we just pass out before one or the other can make it to their own room." This caused the doctor's perfectly sculpted eyebrow to rise as she wrote down a few notes. "And Ritsu is the young boy you live with in your new home?" Daria nodded an affirmative, daring her to say a damn word about how two teenagers living together and sleeping in each others beds was inappropriate or some shit like that. "I gather you two have become close, then?" Well that threw her for a loop.

"Yes, I suppose you could say that. We spend most of our free time together. I am tutoring him in English and we hang out a lot." The doctor continued to write down a few notes before looking back up at the teenage girl. "That's good. It's very beneficial for people to have a supporting net of friends and family that they feel they can lean back on. He must be very special to you if you feel close enough to him for a feeling of safety to come with his presence."

" _Oh, he is. He is very special to me."_

####

When Ritsu walked into his English Language class room, he immediately recognized Journey. He had heard Daria listening to their songs on many different occasions and he found he rather enjoyed their music. And Daria's lessons had led to him being able to understand the words being sung, which were very powerful and motivational in an odd way that only 80's power ballads could be. He never really listened to much music before Daria had come along, but in her short time in his life, her eclectic taste had mostly caught him up to speed as far as the last half-century of music in America.

Daria was perched on his desk, singing along excitedly and playing her ever present air guitar, smiling as wide as the day was long. She looked much happier than she had over the long weekend. The therapy seemed to be helping so far. The moment she had gotten home from her first session, she felt motivated enough to do an hour of yoga and breeze through all of her homework. It seemed as if she were back to normal, but with everything that had come to light so far and the extensive research he had done on mental break downs and people who were abused as children, Ritsu knew the road ahead was a long, hard one. She put on a good mask, but now he knew that she was deeper than that.

One by one, students filed in, all equally confused by the music that was playing and the blue-haired American transfer student dancing around crazily to it. The class finally started when the song ended and the instructor clapped to get everyone's attention. "Everyone, this is Daria Engebretson." She said excitedly, gesturing to the girl in question. "She is our new teaching aide. She will be helping clarify my lessons and she will help any of you with any questions you may have on your work or new material. She is an incredible asset for us to have, and with her help, I know you can all learn this language with great fluency in no time." Daria bowed slightly to the class as they all looked at her with great interest.

A hand went up. "Yes, Kanazuki-san?" The instructor prompted her to ask her question. "Is that why there was music when we walked in today?" Daria decided to answer this, as it was the perfect chance to explain her reasoning. "Yes. I figured that since you are all learning English, it would be beneficial for you to hear music in English. Lyrics are catchy and it's much more fun to learn words from a song than it is to learn words from a vocabulary list." Murmurs rolled over the classroom, some praising the girl for her brilliant idea, and others criticizing her saying it was a stupid idea. It didn't seem to faze the American, though, as she took her seat at a desk that was a little ways away from the instructor's, facing the students. Looking at her made Ritsu's heart speed up a little bit.

She had decided to put on some makeup today, claiming it was to help boost her self esteem. Her eyes were ringed in a coal-colored eyeliner that made the hazel color pop out dramatically, and she had pulled her hair into a messy bun that left a few tendrils to hang down and frame her face. She was stunning in the simplest of ways, and not even that weird yellow dress could make him think otherwise. She looked good in everything, he decided. She looked good, period.

A little while later, they were all writing out paragraphs. The subject matter was completely up to them, as the point of the exercise was to write completely in English with proper sentence structure. Ritsu could see that a good number of his peers were very frustrated, but no one seemed to want to ask Daria for help, so she was sitting up at the front of the room awkwardly, fiddling around as she waited for something to do. If he didn't know any better, he would swear she had A.D.D. sometimes. "Hey, Daria." He spoke up, his voice an octave higher than normal thanks to his nerves. "Yeah?" She asked a few minutes later, having made it to his desk in record time, obviously excited to have something to do. "I just wanted to know if you could read over this and see how I'm doing." He shoved his paper at her, blushing furiously. He was used to asking her to read over his work to see if he was doing it right, but the multiple sets of eyes that had settled upon him with great scrutiny made him shrink in self-consciousness.

"This looks good. It's very detailed and the style is evident, but if you look here, you switched from present tense to past tense. If you change out "was" for "is", it will flow more smoothly. And remember, in English, syntax structure is a little more loose. While in romance languages, it goes subject first then adjectives, in English you can move those around. Instead of saying, for example, the house was blue, you could say the blue house. Does that make sense?" He nodded his head, looking over what he had written, already seeing several things he could change thanks to that little reminder, and began furiously editing his paper.

After that, Daria couldn't find a single moment to sit down. Hands shot up faster than she could keep up with, asking her to read over their papers too. By the time class was over and everyone was turning in their work to be reviewed by the instructor, Daria had gained a tremendous amount of respect from the class, and she couldn't seem to stop smiling that beautiful smile the entire way to their tree. She kept smiling as she and Ritsu ate, and he kept admiring how happy she looked as she chattered about different things to him.

####

"So did you enjoy your first day helping teach English?" Ritsu asked Daria. "Yeah, I really did. I thought it would be boring because most teachers are usually so structured, but it feels really good to be able to help people." Daria reveled in the feeling of helping others, no matter how big or how small the task. She knew all too well what it was like to need help and have no one to offer you a hand. She wanted to try and make sure no one she ever came in contact with felt that way. Everyone needed help.

"I enjoyed having you around to help me. I usually have no clue what I'm doing in that class." Ritsu chuckled, and Daria's mind recalled when they had first began their private lessons and he had barely even known the alphabet. For someone who had been taking English for the last three years, she wondered how he had been able to skate by. It made her giggle quietly to herself as she looked up at him. His uniform was crumpled and a few wisps of hair had escaped his pony tail, swinging back and forth with each step he took. His eyes looked like he may be tired and the crease between his eyebrows looked like he was irritated (but she knew that was just his face), but there was a small, content smile on his face as if he were truly happy with where he was at in his life at that very moment. Daria felt that same smile form on her own face. She really was happy for once. Saying yes to Koh's proposition was the best thing she had ever done.

"What are you smiling at?" Ritsu's deep voice suddenly pulled her from her thoughts as he stopped walking and stared down at her. She was in her gym shorts and tee shirt, as was normal for their walk home from school. She never felt the need to put on her ridiculous uniform after Phys Ed because it was her last class every day and the less time she spent in that dress, the better. "I'm smiling at you, dummy. Smiles are contagious, you know." She grinned back up at him as she batted a hand at a lock of hair that had drifted into her line of sight.

There was a pause of silence between the two teenagers before Ritsu did something Daria would never in a million years have expected. He stepped forward, moving until he was only inches from the girl in front of him and reached up to tuck her renegade hair behind her ear. She immediately took to biting her lip and could feel her face heat up a little bit, but she couldn't bring herself to look away from his intense eyes that suddenly seemed much more mischievous than she had ever seen them. His smile changed to a confident smirk as he leaned forward, whispering into her ear, much like she had done to him not too long ago. "Was I smiling?" He asked huskily as he placed his hands on her waist. She was at a loss for words. He had learned to play her game, and she was worried she was out matched as her knees began to shake slightly and her heartbeat picked up its pace.

Suddenly a loud alarm pierced the air, and the two teenagers all but jumped out of their skin as a fire truck zoomed past them, incredibly close to their place on the sidewalk. Daria's mind immediately went to the episode of the Big Bang Theory where Sheldon had gone to Penny's Halloween party dressed as the Doppler Effect, but the thought was fleeting as she looked up a her equally confused companion. Not many fire trucks came through their neighborhood, and usually when they did they were just cruising around, cutting through to get to a certain destination quicker. When three cop cars and two ambulances also sped by only moments later, the two teenagers immediately set off in the direction they had been heading, wondering what the hell was going on.

The alarms were still loud, so they were close. The two rounded a corner and saw everything parked down at the end of the street in the parking lot of an older apartment building, which they could see was completely ablaze. They took off running, reaching the crowd gathering around the chaos in record time. "What happened?" They both asked at the same time, looking around worriedly to see if anyone was hurt. A lot of little kids lived in that building. Daria always saw one or two of them out playing whenever she went on walks around the neighborhood. "Someone left their stove on." An older woman told them. She was enthralled in the commotion, obviously a busy body that would later be recounting every detail to anybody who would listen to her.

Daria and Ritsu skirted the crowd, moving off to the side where there were less people standing around and merely watched, their adrenaline pumping in the same way it would if they were watching a horror movie and they just _knew_ the ax murder was right around the corner. The minutes stretched on and firefighters kept pulling people out, handing them to police officers and paramedics before going back in. A strange, strangled cry caught Daria's attention. She quickly set off in search of it, leaving Ritsu behind, not even noticing she had left his side as he continued to watch everything that was happening in the kind of fascination one could only give a train wreck.

She finally found the source of the noise, stumbling upon a woman who couldn't be more than thirty who was desperately trying to get someone's attention, only to be brushed off as anyone important tried to tend to the wounded. She was crying, sobbing hard and seemed to be panicking, but the sound of her voice was what had caught Daria's attention. It was loud and off key and very throaty, as if she never used her own voice, and the gestures the woman was making were the final piece to the puzzle. Daria had only seen such a display once before in her life, back when she was in the foster home with Nathaniel, the ten-year-old deaf boy. This woman was deaf and had obviously never learned to speak enough for people who didn't know Sign Language to understand her.

Daria quickly marched over to her and tapped her on the shoulder, recalling all of the knowledge she had acquired in her short time with Nathaniel to sign "Are you OK?" once she finally had the woman's attention. Relief flooded the woman's panicked features as her hands took off in a flurry. Daria couldn't keep up and quickly motioned to let the woman know she needed her to slow down. Even so, it was still hard to understand, not only because of Daria's limited knowledge, but because Sign Language was just like any other language, and was therefore different in every country. She concentrated hard, knowing this was extremely important, and the woman kept signing the same thing over and over, moving her hands quickly from her forehead into a rocking motion, then pointing to the building.

Suddenly, it clicked, and ice ran through Daria's veins. _Babies._ The woman's children were still in the building. Daria's adrenaline kicked into overdrive as she looked around for someone who could help, but couldn't see anyone. All of the fire men were currently in the building or manning the heavy, dangerous hose and the paramedics and cops were too busy with burned people and crowd control. " _Oh God, what do I do? What do I do?!"_

She made a decision then. She only stayed long enough to ask the woman what apartment her children were in before she bolted, her years of physical training aiding her as she flew across the parking lot and into the burning building without a second thought about her safety or the shouts of various people yelling for her to stop, one in particular ringing out above the rest as Ritsu tried to run after her, only to be held back by a police officer. She didn't allow herself even a second of hesitation as she flew up the stairs ahead of her and kept climbing until she reached the third floor. Suddenly she couldn't see. Smoke as black as night filled the air and she had to get her bearings. She let instinct take over, dropping to the floor in as low a crouch as she could manage, something she was now thankful had been ingrained into her by the countless fire drills she had had to endure at the hands of the American Public School System and pressed on.

The woman had signed that the children were in Apartment 310. She couldn't exactly find a directory, so Daria took a chance and swung a left down the hallway, praying she hadn't needed to go right and moved as fast as she could. The further she moved, the louder a certain noise became, and after a few more steps she could distinguish it as crying and screams. She picked up the pace and kept moving until she reached a door at the end of the hallway. This was it, this was 310. Once again calling upon her elementary school fire training, she used the back of her hand to check the doorknob. It wasn't hot, so she quickly grabbed it, only to discover it was locked. " _SHIT_!"

Daria cursed to herself very loudly as she bounced her body off the door a few times. When it didn't budge, she surveyed her surroundings. A shape on the wall across from her caught her eye and she moved toward it. It was a hatchet! " _Oh thank God!"_ Daria wasn't a religious person by any means, but she couldn't help but chant the mantra over and over as she brought her foot up and kicked, smashing the glass and reaching in, grabbing the ax. A shard caught her hand as she pulled it out, slicing her skin open and causing her to hiss, but she quickly dismissed the pain and the red liquid running down her arm as she ran back over to the door and angled the blade, swinging down hard, chopping the door knob right off and sending it flying across the floor. The roar of fire drowned out every sound but the screaming on the other side of the door as she kicked it in, this time making it not only open but bounce off the wall.

"WHERE ARE YOU?!" she yelled out, coughing hard as she brought her shirt up to cover her nose and mouth. The cries only got louder and she followed it, practically running through the apartment to the back rooms and right into a nursery that had one wall completely engulfed in flames. She could now make out two separate voices and found a toddler in a play pen as well as a baby in a crib. She quickly snatched up both before bolting out the door, seeing the flames catch on the skirt of the crib. She fought the urge to vomit as she ran into the next room, pulling the comforter off of the queen sized bed and wrapping it securely around both of the small children in her arms, making sure their faces were completely covered but couldn't be suffocated as she ran back into the hall and down the stairs.

The fresh air hit her like a train as she stumbled out of the building and she didn't stop running until she reached one of the ambulances, thrusting the children at a paramedic before she began coughing her brains out. Everything was a blur as paramedics called out orders and stats and she saw the childrens' mother rush over to them, crying and generally freaking out. She was vaguely aware of hands on her and a lot of shouting, but she couldn't stop coughing long enough to figure out who it was and her eyes were burning so bad she couldn't even open them.

####

A little while later, the sky was ablaze in brilliant oranges and pinks thanks to the way the light of the setting sun hit the smoke that tainted the air. The fire had finally been put out and most of the crowd had dissipated, leaving only a few cop cars and one ambulance, in the back of which sat Ritsu and Daria. Her wrist had been wrapped up after the cut from the glass had been cleaned and she was holding an oxygen mask to her face. Ritsu was a bundle of nerves as he sat next to her, holding a bottle of water for her to sip on when she felt her throat was too dry. She had inhaled a lot of smoke, but not enough to warrant a trip to the hospital thanks to her staying low and covering her face. She had gotten really lucky. But, he had to admit, she was a damn hero for doing what she did. No one had paid a moment of attention to that woman because no one knew sign language, but Daria did, and thanks to that, there were no casualties. Every single person had made it out of that fire, something that wouldn't have happened if Daria hadn't been there and noticed that woman.

"That was really stupid, you know." He chastised her defeatedly. "You could have gotten really hurt." There was a pause between them as she took her water from him and sipped on it for a minute before handing it back. "I know." She took a few breaths from the oxygen mask before pulling it back down. "But if I didn't do it, those two little boys would have died. I got them out of there right before that crib went up and everyone else was busy taking care of other people. It needed to be done." She put the mask back over her face and Ritsu sighed, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and pulling her to him, resting his head on hers. "I know. Just please, don't scare me like that again. Between the incident last week and now this, I'm scared I'm going to lose you before I even get you." Daria looked up at him sharply, an expression on her face that Ritsu couldn't identify if he tried. "You have me, Ritsu. I'm right here."

"No, that's not what I mean." He groaned, rubbing his hands over his face. He was horrible at talking about his feelings. "What I mean is..." He paused, trying to think of how to word what he was trying to say, while Daria looked up at him expectantly, the oxygen mask pressed back to her face. "What I mean is, even though our engagement is arranged, I care about you. A lot. And I don't want to lose you before I get the chance to try and make you like me back just as much." He looked down at his feet, suddenly fascinated by his shoes as his face heated up to near scalding temperatures and his hand moved up to rub the back of his neck. Minutes of silence marched on before he took a chance and glanced up, only to suddenly be attacked.

Daria's lips crashed into his and her arms wrapped their way around his neck. Ritsu flailed for a second trying to catch his balance, and his eyes widened to the size of saucers, but a moment later they fluttered shut and he rested one hand on her back as the other supported his weight. Her large chest pressed against his own toned one and his lips began to move against hers, delighting him in how velvety soft they felt. Her un-bandaged hand wound its way into the half of his hair that wasn't pulled up and tugged slightly, causing a low growl to escape Ritsu's throat, and he pulled her tighter to him. "A-HEM." The sound of someone clearing their throat made the teenagers jump away from each other quickly, and both of their faces flushed bright red. The paramedic that interrupted them simply smiled and began one final check over Daria before releasing her to go, reminding her to keep her cut clean and shutting the back doors as they hopped out.

The ambulance was the last vehicle to drive off the scene, leaving the two teenagers standing awkwardly beside each other. Ritsu mumbled something before ambling over to their bags that had been abandoned earlier and snatched them up. When he straightened and turned around, Daria was standing right behind him, causing him to scream in surprise. She began to laugh at how high-pitched his voice had gotten before she went into another coughing fit. He moved to her side, concerned as all hell, rubbing her back and supporting her weight. She waved him off and stood up straight, sipping the last of her water before turning to face him. "I do like you, Ritsu. A lot. I couldn't ask for a more perfect person to be engaged to." He looked back at her in shock before a slow smile crept up onto his face, mirroring her own.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Weeks passed without anymore incidents. Life seemed to return to normal. Well... As normal as it could be for a teenage girl living in a new country with her fiance and his mafia family. Daria got back into her workout routine ( _without_ hurting herself) and she was all caught up in school. She had even helped Ritsu's English Language class raise their average scores from the low 70's to the high 80's, something she was _quite_ proud of. She and Ritsu hadn't kissed again, but she was OK with that. The speed their relationship was progressing was just right for them. Social norms be damned.

"Are you almost done? I can't feel my ass anymore." Ritsu squirmed for the millionth time, acting like what she was doing to him was the most annoying thing in the world, but she could tell he didn't actually care one way or the other. "Well you should have thought of that _before_ you agreed to let me play with your hair." She tsked him, wrapping a rubber band around the last piece of hair. "There. All done. Now you can go be a big baby about something else." He jumped up from his place on the floor next to her bed and made his way to the mirror that was on her wall, looking at his new 'do. He ran his fingers over the braids, smiling at how the feeling tingled on his scalp as Daria walked up behind him, admiring her work. "You look good with corn rows. Very modern-American-gangster." She giggled as he rolled his eyes and turned to her, reaching up to poke the tip of her nose. "Well I guess if I'm going to be a gangster, I gotta look the part."

"How does that work, anyway? Do you take over when your dad dies or when you turn a certain age or what? And what kind of stuff is this gang into?" Her curiosity had finally gotten the better of her. She had been around people who were in gangs before thanks to the lifestyle her mother lead as well as briefly being in one herself, but American gangs were very different from Japanese ones. "I guess I just take over whenever my old man is done. He could die, or he could just decide to retire. That's why he had Koh find you. He wanted us to "have time to form the bond necessary to be beneficial" for when I take over. Whatever that means..." He trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck nervously as he looked anywhere but at the girl in front of him. Bringing up the fact that they were engaged was always awkward, considering they didn't even have a way to describe what they had _now_.

"You don't need to be embarrassed about that, you know." She said quietly, biting her lip and scuffing her toe across the floor, feeling the grooves where the wooden boards met each other. "How can I not be? We wouldn't have ever even met if my old man actually had faith in my ability to find a girlfriend on my own." Daria snorted at that, looking up at him in extreme amusement. "What?" He asked indignantly, his face becoming more scary looking, but it didn't faze her in the least. "That's exactly why." She said, smiling at how adorable he was when he was irritated. "Last year, every single person in this household thought you were gay because you had a crush on Haruhi, and from what I understand, that was the first time you ever even tried to make a move on a girl. So _of course_ your father felt the need to be your wing man." Ritsu's face burned red and he began to grumble to himself, making Daria giggle.

"Look, I don't doubt that you would have been able to find a girlfriend on your own eventually, but I'm honestly quite happy with how things turned out. With the path I was headed on, I probably would have ended up just like my mother, a teenage drop out with a toddler to try and keep up with. Or, even more likely, I would be dead. Instead, thanks to your awkward self, I am here, away from that toxic environment, making straight A's at a really good school, and I'm with you. I've already told you how I feel about you, Ritsu. And I couldn't think of anyone I would rather be saddled with." Ritsu visibly tensed at how nonchalantly she spoke of her mother and how she could have possibly died. She had told him her therapist felt that it was coping mechanism of hers, to make light of very serious situations, so he didn't say anything, but inside he was screaming, freaking out at the thought of her ending up any other way than standing in his home, destined to be with him. The thoughts made him sick to his stomach.

"Alright, enough of all this crap. You still didn't answer my question about the various activities your gang takes part in, don't think I forgot that, but it can wait till some other time." she began to push him out her door, motioning for him to go to his own room. "Now go get ready. The festival thingie starts in an hour." She laughed as he grumbled about her nagging him to death and closed her door, heading for her closet. Looking at all of her clothes, she decided to keep it simple and grabbed a pair of jeans, her flats, her studded belt and an Aerosmith tee shirt. As a last second decision, she also grabbed a light scarf and tied it in her hair like a bohemian headband, weaving it between the hundreds of braids she had put in her own hair, which she had died a bright lavender only days before. A little smudgy black eyeliner and mascara, and she was finally content with her appearance, skipping out the door after grabbing her wallet, clipping the chain attached to it to her belt loop and shoving it in her back pocket.

"It literally only took me ten minutes to get ready. How are you still in there?" She yelled through Ritsu's door, scratching at it like a dog just to annoy him. "Shut up!" She heard back, followed by a loud crash that she could only assume, to her great amusement, was him falling over in an attempt to put on his pants. He hid it well, but the boy could be even more clumsy than her at times. "Is the young lord OK? I heard a crash." Daria looked to her left to see a dirty Tetsuya, holding his faithful broom, looking more concerned than a new mother. "He's fine." She chuckled. "Just being a stubborn ass, as usual. Hey, what are you doing tonight?" An idea popped into her head, making her smile like the Grinch when he figured out his evil plan to pose as Santa Claus. "Nothing really. Why?"

In a flash she was dragging him to his own room across the house, flying to his closet and digging through his wardrobe. "Here. Put these on. And wash your face or something. You're coming with us." She threw some jeans and a shirt at him. "Going with you where?" The blond boy was obviously confused. Daria had been friendly enough with him, but she and the young lord usually spent their time together alone. "To the festival, duh. You need to get out more. All I ever see you do is sweep and take care of Ritsu. You need to have fun too. Now hop to it. I expect you to be ready in ten minutes." She sauntered out of his door, closing it behind her, leaving him dumbfounded for a second before he quickly began to change his clothes.

####

"Here you go." Ritsu handed Daria and Tetsuya each a huge ball of cotton candy and the trio began to slowly meander through the crowd, stopping every now and then to look at trinkets vendors were selling or to watch the various street performers. "I'll never understand how you or any of these people can move like that. It's just not natural." Ritsu commented as they watched a man that appeared to be a human robot dance to some electronic sounding music. "It's really not that hard. You just gotta trust your body and feel the music." She replied mindlessly, shoving more cotton candy into her mouth. He could tell that all the sugar they had consumed so far was starting to make her hyper. Her whole body seemed to vibrate with energy.

Suddenly, her cotton candy was being shoved into his hand and she moved forward through the crowd to join the man in question, dancing along side him. The people around them cheered as the girl simultaneously made it seem as if she had no bones and was a robot at the same time, garnering a smile dripping with respect from the street performer as they danced together in harmony with each other as well as the music. Ritsu and Tetsuya watched in amused silence, smiling at how much fun their American companion seemed to be having. When the song ended, the two dancers took a bow and began chatting with each other as people began dropping tips into the hat sat by the boom box.

"She is a remarkable girl." Tetsuya offered, his eyes never leaving the display before them. "Yeah. She surprises me every day with the things she can do." Ritsu thought back to her running into that burning building. He had never met anyone like her before. She made his life brighter. Before meeting her, he was a loner who everyone was afraid of. Now, he was more confident, more people spoke to him, and hell, he was even out at a festival right now with her and his friend, enjoying himself instead of worrying about becoming the Godfather of a gang and feeling completely isolated. He was brought out of his thoughts when Daria skipped back over to them, a huge smile on her face.

"Ready?" He asked cheekily, his eyebrow raised sarcastically, a habit he had subconsciously picked up from her. "Yup! That was a lot of fun. Let's go find something else now." She grabbed her sugary sustenance from him and marched off in the direction they had originally been heading, leaving Ritsu and Tetsuya to trail behind her. "Is she always this capricious?" The blond asked the red-head lightly, his tone full of wonder. "You have no idea. She keeps me on my toes, that's for damn sure." He replied, smiling after the subject of their conversation. "I'm glad to see you so happy, young lord. We were all very worried about you." Ritsu pondered the statement. "I suppose I am happy, aren't I?" He mused. "I was pissed when my old man told me he had basically bought me a girlfriend, but now... I don't know. I can't picture my life without her."

"So you love her then?" His eyes slid to his older friend. If there were ever anyone he could confide in, it was Tetsuya. He could talk to Daria about anything, but talking about his feelings for her was easier with someone else. "I'm not even sure what love is, exactly. What with my mom dying when I was just a kid, I don't exactly have anything to compare this to. I guess I could love her. When I think about her my heart goes crazy and I can't stop smiling. A few of the guys at home asked me if I was OK. Apparently I look weird when I smile thanks to this stupid scary face of mine, but she makes me forget about that. She just sees me, not my scary face. She makes me feel good about me." Ritsu looked down at the end of his speech, grinning at his "Judge Me Not By My RBF" tee shirt he had found in his shopping bag all those months ago. It was his favorite, not because of how clever it was (though that was a huge reason), but because it had been a gift from the beautiful, mysterious girl he had spent an entire day with.

"Guys! Hurry up! They need three more people for this game!" The two young men smiled and made their way to the stall the American girl was waiting at impatiently. They sat on their respective seats and the carnie attending the game explained the rules. The buzzer went off and all six of the contestants began to roll the balls that had been given to them up their respective slopes, trying to make it into the highest scoring holes. A few minutes passed and a bell rang, declaring Daria the winner, who subsequently jumped up and began to do a victory dance consisting of a mix between the running man and the cabbage patch, to dance moves she had explained to Ritsu back when she had made him listen to 90's hip hop for a week straight.

"Alright miss, what'll it be?" The attendant asked her, referring to the wall of prizes behind him. "I'll take the fluffy gorilla." The attendant pulled the stuffed animal down and handed it to her, congratulating her on her win before trying to round up enough contestants for another round. "Here you go." The girl presented the toy to Ritsu, who took it with a look of confusion on his face. "Oh don't be like that." She chastised him. "I won it for you, you big doof. Look, it looks just like you. Cuddly and with a hilariously angry looking face. See?" He had to admit, she had a point there. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Thank you." He beamed at her, gripping his new acquisition in one hand and slinging his other to rest around her shoulders. He had become accustomed to such displays of affection. Much like when they had first visited the Host Club together and she had pulled out his chair for him, they attracted a lot of glances from nearby onlookers, but he could care less. He admired how strong Daria was in her convictions about gender equality. He liked the idea of the two of them spoiling each other rather than it being a one sided ordeal. He treated her like a queen, and she in turn treated him like a king. He wouldn't have it any other way.

Once upon a time, he would have been embarrassed as hell at a girl treating him like he was the female in the relationship, but Daria had taught him that gender roles didn't matter. He could still be manly and receive flowers when she felt he needed a pick-me-up, just like she could still be feminine and kick a grown man's ass in a sparring match. And he enjoyed that. It took a lot of pressure off of him having to figure out what she liked and how she liked to be treated. The lesson he had asked for from Suoh had given him a general idea, but it was just that, _general._ The air-headed Frenchman knew how to make the average population of women swoon, but Daria wasn't an average woman. If he had tried to pull those cheesy one-liners on her like Suoh had told him, she would have just laughed in his face and told him he was a dweeb. She did that anyway, but at least it was because of something _he_ did and not something the Host Club had told him to do. He had had enough experience with them steering him toward doing something ridiculous.

"Hey, look, there's a Ferris wheel. That looks like fun." Tetsuya pointed out once they had rounded a corner. "Yeah, that does sound fun." Ritsu's deep voice agreed, followed by an excited nod from Daria, whose mouth was full of caramel corn she had gotten a few minutes prior. "Alright, we'll do that next."

####

"Wow. He moves fast. Look at that." Daria pointed down to the car slightly below them to the front, where Tetsuya was furiously making out with the random, _extremely attractive_ girl that he had gotten paired with when the attendant was loading the ride. "Damn. If he goes any deeper, they're gonna need protection." Daria turned to Ritsu in admiring surprise. "Great Scott, did you just make a sex joke? Oh lord, it's the end of days!" Her teasing was merciless, but he only rolled his eyes at her. "Keep it up. You're stuck up here with me until they start unloading everyone." The ride had paused with Daria and Ritsu's car right at the top, giving them the perfect view of the neighborhood for at least twenty blocks.

"Eh. There's worse places to be." She remarked, popping more caramel corn into her mouth before offering some to him. They ate in silence for a moment before she broke it. "The stars look incredible tonight. It's so clear. It's always raining in Washington." Ritsu agreed, looking up at the sky as he stretched his arm across the back of the car, right behind Daria's shoulders, prompting her to lean closer to him. Her head rested on his shoulder as they both looked up at the twinkling lights together, and she sighed in content. "Does anyone ever ask you about us?" She asked quietly. "No, not really. People still tend to avoid me, so striking up a conversation is pretty hard." He replied distractedly. "Do people ask you?" he questioned. "Yeah. Every now and then." "And what do you say?" She now had his full attention, his gaze drifting over her features, illuminated by the lights below. "I tell them you are very special to me." She responded seriously. "And that if anyone does a single thing to disrespect or harm you, I'll chop their arm off and beat them with it."

"You are so weird." he laughed at her, pulling her closer to him and resting his cheek against the top of her head. The wheel began to move forward, people at the bottom unloading every time it paused. "Do you like being with me?" He asked her suddenly, making her look up at him. His features were scrunched up in worry, making him look like he was angry but she could tell he was just anxious. "Of course I do, Ritsu. I've told you that before."

####

Ritsu turned his body toward her completely, steadying himself as the ride jolted forward again. He figured now was the perfect time to put his Host Club training to good use. They were in what the King would call "the perfect moment". He leaned in a little, reminding himself to go slow, and observed her every reaction. Her eyes became half-lidded, her lips parted slightly and and leaned in to him as well. He took all of this as a good sign, and proceeded until his lips brushed against hers, sending a spark shooting through his body. His entire experience with kissing girls was limited to the back of an ambulance with an oxygen mask preceding his place, but it was quickly becoming his favorite thing in the world. All of his thoughts melted away, the girl in front of him becoming the only thing that mattered in that moment, and he couldn't get enough. Soon, though, they had to break apart for air, and he was grinning like an idiot at the purple-haired girl, her lips slightly swollen as she smiled back, a happy glint seeming to be in her eyes.

The ride moved one more time and the two teenagers stood up, exiting the car while their fingers laced together, both grinning like mad. "Hey guys, this is Ayame." A smiling Tetsuya caught their attention, his arm around the waist of the pretty girl he had been snogging the entire ride. "Oh, she's alive? I was sure you had devoured the poor girl by now." Daria teased, making the blond man sweat-drop and the raven haired girl giggle. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Daria, and this is Ritsu." The girl introduced herself and her companion, smiling at the new addition to their group. "So where to now?" Ritsu asked, looking between everyone. "There's a booth doing face painting just around the way." Ayame suggested, leaning into her new beau's side. "That sounds awesome!" Daria exclaimed loudly, making Ritsu check his ear for damage. "Let's go!" The American once again ran off, making the group chuckle at her antics and follow after her.

####

"OK, so what do I do now?" Ritsu asked, taking a step back from the counter and waiting for instructions. "Well now that you've peeled all the garlic, next you chop it. Like this, watch." Daria picked up the big butchers knife and demonstrated the process of chopping on a single clove before handing him the weapon of delicious creation and setting him loose. He had requested her spaghetti at least once a week since she had made it that first time, and while every time she had made it a different way, incorporating different spices or meats or vegetables just to keep it interesting, she decided that she should probably teach him to make it himself just in case he ever wanted it and she wasn't around. So far she had him on chopping duty while she had him simply observe everything she did with making the sauce, but it was going a lot faster than usual thanks to the extra pair of hands.

"This is fun. I like teaching you things. You're a good student." She remarked, checking the water to see if it was boiling yet. "And you're a good teacher. That's no secret, though." He dumped all of the chopped garlic into the heated olive oil she had waiting for him before adding in the mushrooms he had cut up earlier, earning himself high praise from the kooky girl. "You keep flirting like that and I'm not responsible for what happens, sir." She wagged her wooden spoon at him in a challenging fashion, cocking her hip and her eyebrow simultaneously. "Well I guess I'll just have to keep doing it then, because your reactions are pretty damn awesome." She merely laughed and began to stir the sauteing vegetables, making sure they weren't burning. Without even meaning to, she had turned him into a true Casanova, ironically making him worthy of the name the Host Club called him anyway.

"Is Ayame going to be here for dinner again?" She asked him, wanting to make sure she boiled enough pasta for everyone. "Yeah. I don't even think she went home last night to be honest. They've been inseparable ever since they met." She snorted. "You mean their _faces_ have been inseparable. Who knew a simple outing could turn into a hook up service?" All week, they had seen Ayame around the house, usually accompanied by a grinning Tetsuya. Daria had noticed the floors getting a bit dusty lately and it made her laugh. He had finally found something to do other than sweep. The girl was pretty amazing, too. She was a second year art student at a local university, and had a mean eye for photography. The only time Daria didn't see her expensive looking DSLR camera hanging around her neck was when _Tetsuya_ was hanging around her neck. And the girl was fascinating. She was fluent in five different languages, including one that was unique to a remote South American tribe, she had served a year in the Peace Corps before enrolling in Art School, and she could whip anyone's ass at poker, all while quoting Shakespeare and Nietzsche. All in all, Daria loved the girl and was ecstatic that she had helped Tetsuya find someone that was so awesome.

"Alright, so now we just wait and stir?" Ritsu asked, taking the wooden spoon she offered to him. "Yep. Easy-peasie. Just let the sauce simmer and make sure it doesn't burn, and when the pasta is done, we drain it and serve. It's idiot-proof, really." Ritsu smiled at her, a feeling of self accomplishment coming over him, despite Daria downplaying the whole thing. He was finally learning to cook, something he had been wanting to do for a while, and Daria was the one teaching him. "How's your therapy been going?" He asked her, wanting to keep the conversation going as he slowly tended to the sauce. "It's good. Yesterday we talked about when I was an underground fighting pro. We came to an agreement that it was self-destructive and that my channeling of my energy into punching bags of sand rather than punching people's faces is a much more healthy activity."

"Underground fighting pro?" He asked, turning to her in surprise. She laughed at how far his eyebrows shot up, disappearing behind his hair that had escaped his pony tail. "Yeah. Your father told you I had a bit of a past, right?" This also surprised him. He had never mentioned asking his old man about her. "Well that included beating the hell out of men twice my age a couple times a week for large sums of cash. You'd be surprised how much money you can make betting on me winning in a fight." Ritsu was quiet for a minute as he focused on stirring the sauce before he looked back up at her. "Do you think you could show me how to fight?" His question damn near knocked Daria over. "Don't you already know how to fight? I thought you said your dad had karate instructors give you private lessons when you were younger?"

"He did, but I haven't really kept up with that. At this point, the most physical activity I do is push ups. And damn near everyone here knows karate. I want to learn how to street fight. It seems more practical, and in our line of business it could probably save my life if I ever get in a tight spot." Daria thought this over. She knew full and well that being in a gang was dangerous and most definitely required some self defense skills just in case. And he had a point. Street fighting would definitely surprise the people here more than the people in America, because most people here formally trained in some type of martial arts. "You have a valid point. I don't like the thought of you being in a fight, but I don't like the thought of you losing one even more. We can start tomorrow after school. We can do homework and English lesson after. Sound good?" He beamed at her, nodding excitedly and she just laughed lightly and hugged him around his waist before grabbing the pot and pouring the pasta into the strainer that was sat in the sink next to the stove.

####

"No, spread your feet a little farther apart. If I were to come at you right now, I'd knock you over with how you're standing." Ritsu nodded and shifted his left foot outward until she nodded in approval, re positioning his fists up near his face like she had shown him and readied himself for her attack. They had been sparring for an hour and he had made remarkable progress. He had yet to get any sort of a hand up on her, but he could now land a few punches and stay upright for nearly three minutes before she knocked him on his back. She jumped forward, faking a punch to his ribs, making him move to block it which unfortunately left is face open for the real punch (she hadn't done any damage to him, opting for loose fists for teaching purposes) as she hooked her foot behind his ankle and threw him off balance. He just laid there on his back for a minute, breathing heavily when they heard clapping. He shifted his head so he could see the door, his eyes landing on an upside-down view of his old man and Koh.

"How long have you been there?" He asked as he slowly picked himself up off the floor. Daria seemed unfazed as she smiled at the two men, moving to stand by Ritsu. "Long enough to see you get your ass handed to you. Your face can scare off anyone, but your fighting skills are definitely wanting. I'm glad to see that Daria has decided to help you with that." The cheeky look on the man's face was uncharacteristic. He was normally either very somber or exuded the air of a Godfather. "We only started today, sir. He's made great progress for only fighting like an American for an hour." She said beside him, looking at him in admiration.

"I see. Well keep up the good work, son." The teenage boy nodded his head once, using a small towel to wipe the sweat from his face and neck. "So have the two of you talked about a date for the wedding yet?" Ritsu sputtered, the idea having completely slipped his mind ever since they had signed the contract. "I... Uh... We..." He looked like a fish out of water, a common expression for him. They most _certainly_ hadn't talked about anything of the sort. Hell, he had only even gotten to first base twice in the five months he had known her. "April 19th." Ritsu turned to the girl in surprise, looking at her questioningly. "If that's OK with you, of course, Ritsu. That's... That's my grandmother's birthday..." She suddenly seemed shy, biting her lip and gazing at the ground as she fiddled with her fingers. "Yeah..." He said slowly, his gaze remaining on her. "Yeah. That's perfect. April 19th."

"Wonderful!" Lee-Fu clapped, obviously overjoyed at the progress they were making. "Koh, will you tell the wedding planner? She said she wanted to meet with them once they had picked a date." The ever-silent weapons specialist nodded, pulling out his cell phone and walking off. "So you two are getting along, then?" The two teenagers nodded, scooting closer to each other subconsciously for comfort. "Fantastic. Now, will either of you mind telling me who that pretty young woman was I ran into in the hallway earlier? The one who blinded me with her camera."

Daria snorted. Ayame had surprise-attacked them all in the name of art. She said it was for a series of "real portraits" she was working on, in which the subjects were completely unaware that they were about to be photographed. She made a mental note to introduce her to the Host Club. The last time she had seen them, Kyoya had been complaining about a lack of decent merchandise on the members the he was able to sell and she thought the art student could definitely benefit from the experience. "That's Ayame, sir. I'm not sure if she's procured the term 'girlfriend' just yet, but Tetsuya met her last week when we were all at the festival." Lee-Fu rubbed his chin, thinking this new piece of information over. "And he is happy with this girl?" He asked the two. "Extremely." His son rolled his eyes good naturedly. He was over the moon for his friend's new found happiness. "And does she seem to want to be with him long term?" Lee-Fu continued his questioning.

"With all due respect, sir, I can tell you get your kicks out of playing match-maker, but this relationship between them could go either way at this point. I think the best thing to do would be to sit back and see what happens. If she suddenly disappears, I'll be sad because she's the coolest girl I've ever met, but that just means they weren't compatible. If she sticks around, then you can start throwing wedding planners at them." She giggled at the older man. He may be a gangster, but he was also just an old man who enjoyed pairing people up like a little girl with her barbies and ken dolls.

"Sound advice. You are very wise, young lady. Maybe I should start coming to you when I need a second opinion." The older man smiled coyly at her and bowed, making his exit and Ritsu wrapped his arm around her waist. "You're perfect, you know that?" He asked her. "Oh you should know by now that that's definitely not true. I'm just... enlightened is all. Now come one, we have homework to do." She patted him in the stomach a couple times before leaving the gym, forcing him to follow after.

####

"Pick up the pace!" Jo-Min Sensei shouted, trying to motivate his students to go a little faster. It had reached that time of year when the students were to be graded on how well they could perform on the fitness test, and so far most of them were barely passing. Only two of the teenagers in his charge were really shining, Yama and Daria, neither of which were really a surprise. "Yeah, Yama! Pick up the pace!" Daria jeered the boy lightheartedly as she zoomed past him on the track, causing him to shout his own bout of smack-talk as he pushed himself even harder to go faster, trying to catch up to the American. The two of them had bonded ever since that fateful dodge ball game, motivating each other to go faster, play harder and just generally be better in every aspect of the physical education class. The results were astounding.

Daria had been able to finally knock her mile down below six minutes and Yama could rage through more than a hundred sit ups in one go. Daria could do twenty three chin ups, _one-armed_ and Yama could shoot a basket ball right through the hoop from almost all the way across the court. Meanwhile, all the other girls in the class chose to walk whenever they were on the track and avoided anything with a ball and all of the guys just plain looked bad in comparison to the two prized athletes.

"Alright, Daria, Yama, you two pass with flying colors. Your scores balance each other out so you're tied, so don't even ask who is the best in the class." Jo-Min Sensei told them, writing down a few notes on his clipboard. "Keep up the good work and you could both get full-ride scholarships to any university of your choosing." He mentioned distractedly, glancing down at his stopwatch as another student crossed the finish line. The two teenagers hi-fived and walked off, talking about something or another as they moved to sit in the grassy field in the center of the track.

####

"Alright, Kitty-Cat man, I come bearing gifts." Daria rubbed her hands excitedly as she sat down on the cushion next to Umehito, emptying her bag, causing the contents to fall out onto the ground in front of them. "I have the Blair Witch Project," she held the DVD up for him to see, "I have Twizzlers," she threw his own package to him, "I have soda," she handed him a two-liter of Coke, "And I have concepts for our Halloween costumes. There are quite a few to choose from, so we can look at those later." She tossed her sketch book onto the ground a little ways away from them. Ritsu had decided to go spend his Sunday with the Host Club again, alone, and she decided to capitalize on the opportunity to spend time with her new friend at his house. He chuckled creepily, making the American smile broadly, and rubbed Beelzenef's little hands together evilly.

"Yes, today shall be a most glorious celebration to inaugurate our bond. Only a blood-oath could bring us closer." Daria snorted at the man. "Please always talk like that. It's amazing." She chuckled, slipping the DVD into the player and taking her place back on the cushion, popping open her soda. "Big brother!" Suddenly the door flung open and some light seeped in, causing Umehito to hiss and cover himself as a small, blond bundle of energy flung itself at him. "Kirimi! The light!" He whined uncomfortably, to which she immediately ran to the door and threw it shut. "I'm sorry, big brother! I just wanted to spend time with you and your androgynous friend!"

Daria choked on her candy as she turned wide eyes toward the small child. " _Where in the hell did she learn the word androgynous?"_ Daria left the movie on the menu screen and turned questioning eyes on the older sibling. "Is she OK to watch this? I mean it can be pretty scary for small kids." The young girl crossed her arms and huffed. "I'm not scared of the dark anymore! I have my big brother here to protect me!" She defended, causing the teenager holding her to shrug his shoulders. "I suppose we could always just turn it off if it gets to be too much?" he offered. "OK, that sounds like a plan. Kirimi, would you like some candy?" Daria offered the new addition to their festivities a Twizzler, which was accepted graciously and she pressed play.

####

"You can't hide forever, Kirimi!" Daria called out, looking around the corner behind a couch. "I'll find you sooner or later!" The small girl remained curled up in her hiding place in the cabinet of the entertainment center. She had gotten through the entire witch movie without getting scared and now her big brother and his friend were playing hide and seek with her. She was winning. The footsteps left the room and Kirimi crawled out of her spot, checking to make sure the coast was clear before scurrying to the door on her short legs. "GOTCHYA!" Kirimi screamed as she was picked up and swung around, making her giggle loudly and kick her legs in the air.

"Alright, kiddo, that's you: 3, me: 1 and zilch for your brother." The American smiled, squeezing the adorable little girl tightly and walking over to Umehito. "I may be a prince of darkness, but the two of you could sneak up on a wandering spirit." The boy defended himself, scoffing as the two girls laughed at him. "OK, Garfield. You're it now." The man covered his eyes as well as Beelzenef's as he started counting as the two girls giggled and searched for new hiding spots.


	8. Chapter 8

**Warning: This chapter gets slightly heated. But only slightly. Have fun.**

Chapter 8

"Wait, so if those all _aren't_ her name, then what _is_ her name?" One of the students asked Daria curiously after the Ting Tings' greatest hit had finished playing. "Well, you see, that answer is complicated. It was written by two people, Katie White and Jules De Martino, so the answer could be either of them, but Katie, the vocalist, stated that it was written as a way for her to rant about her frustrations concerning the record industry, so it could be a big metaphor in which _anyone_ can insert their own name and therefore have it be about them. Hands down, it is a very powerful feminist piece, working for both genders, but the question as to exactly which name it is about will always remain a mystery."

Ritsu contented himself in observing the strange conversation his peers were having as the instructor busied herself at her desk grading papers. Over the months, the class had gotten better and better at understanding and speaking English, to the point where once they passed the threshold into the classroom, not a single word of Japanese was spoken by anyone. On top of that, Daria had somehow managed to suck all of the students into her weird little vortex of American Pop Culture, so the area was always abuzz with conversations about music and television shows such as Supernatural and Once Upon a Time. The entire thing boggled Ritsu's mind, but not in a bad way. He couldn't help but think that Daria was the most incredible person he had ever met, and watching her talk so animatedly about Slash's guitar solos and the merits of whether or not Sam was a bad guy with good intentions or a good guy who had lost his way just absolutely made his day.

"Excuse me, Kasanoda-san, but could you possibly read over my essay?" Ritsu turned around to see the small statured girl standing behind him, holding out her paper to him shyly. She had light brown hair that was cut in layers and reached all the way down to her waist and big chocolate eyes, which were open wide with hope. He couldn't help but notice her delicate nose and small pouty lips, or the way her free arm being behind her back pushed her chest forward, which of course led to him noticing the way her waist curved. Her hips were hidden beneath the god-awful yellow dress, but he could imagine them as he stared at her. "Um, yeah, sure Rinata-san. No problem." Baffled at the fact that a girl was willingly asking for his help, he took the paper from her and began to read over it, making small notes wherever he thought it could be improved. Daria's lessons, both in the class room and at home, had helped him skyrocket to the top of the class, getting 100% on every assignment, quiz and test and enabling him to talk to Daria in her native tongue, the only awkward thing being how she laughed at how he pronounced some things and calling him adorable because of it.

"Here you are, Rinata-san." He handed her the paper back. "Thank you so much, Kasanoda-san. It's really a huge help. I'm very grateful." He scooted back in his seat confusedly as the girl suddenly sat herself atop his desk and leaned forward toward him. He looked around desperately, not sure what to do, but literally everyone else in the class was up at the front debating whether her name really was Katie or not. "You know, Kasanoda-san, you're very cute when you're flustered." Her eyes suddenly took on a mischievous glint, but it was nothing like the one that always settled itself on Daria's face and he got a bad feeling in his stomach as she leaned down even further. He couldn't scoot back anymore, having bumped into the desk behind him. "I... Uh... I..." He vehemently shook his head back and forth and held his hands up in a manner that seemed as if her were trying to ward off an unwanted attack, which for all intents and purposes, _this was_ , but she kept moving forward and he was trapped.

Suddenly, the small girl gave a loud yelp as she flew off the desk and her ass hit the floor. "Oh, I'm so sorry. Clumsy me. Did I accidentally bump the desk and knock you off?" Daria batted her eyes at the brunette innocently, an extremely fake look of concern on her face. "Yes, you-" Daria cut off the girl, waving dismissively and turning toward the blood-red Ritsu and leaning against the desk in front of him. "So I was thinking that since today is Friday, we could go out and do something instead of staying home like we always do. I think Ayame mentioned something about a paint ball arena over by the park?" Ritsu's eyes flickered to his assailant, who had picked herself up off of the floor and was squawking indignantly over having been so rudely intercepted, but the periwinkle-haired girl in front of him simply ignored her as she waited for a response.

"Um, yeah, that sounds good. Tetsuya's going too, right?" He asked her. "Of course. The day we can separate those two is the day the South gives up all hopes of the Confederacy rising again." She laughed, crossing her arms. Ritsu laughed too, recalling his brief history lesson she had given him when they had watched Glory together. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the brunette huff and stomp off, finally having given up, and he let out a sigh of relief he hadn't known he had been holding. "Cool. So I'll text Ayame on break and let her know that we are in." Daria smiled, and Ritsu admired the way one side of her mouth quirked up more than the other and her nose scrunched a little as she did so. He got the urge to reach up and kiss her, but immediately blushed dark red when he realized where they were.

"You OK, Heinz? You're giving ketchup companies a run for their money in the color department." Ritsu sputtered a little before finally, ungracefully recovering. "Yeah. I was just thinking... About... Underwear? Oh god. Forget I said that." Too late. Daria was doubled over, laughing so hard the entire class turned to see what the commotion was, and he was torn between being embarrassed as all hell and fawning internally over how when she laughed, it was always genuine and full. "OK then, Ace. I'll leave you to your titillating thoughts." She giggled once she had sobered a little and patted him on the shoulder before walking off to do something else.

####

"Eat paint, mother fucker!" Daria yelled as she jumped and flipped between barriers, shooting her gun wildly toward the boys whenever they showed themselves. A few meters away, Ayame let out an impressive battle cry as she jumped up onto a structure and began to run across the tops of everything toward where the boys were cowering across the course. Daria quickly reloaded and followed her teammate's lead, dashing in quick succession toward their targets, laughing at how the rest of the people that they had gotten grouped with for the game hid in fear of them. "You're girlfriends are crazy!" one guy yelled out, sounding terrified for his life, making Daria round on him, quickly scoping out his hiding spot and shooting him point blank in the chest. Bright green paint spattered all over his protective gear, reminding her of a Jackson Pollock. "That's right. We're crazy. But wars aren't won by sane people, sir." She laughed darkly, cocking her paintball gun and grinning like a Cheshire cat. The poor guy whimpered and seemed to be hyperventilating as the strange American girl ran back toward her original destination.

Pop, splat. Pop, splat. Pop, splat. The sounds of air-soft battle raged around her as she stalked her prey. Ayame had disappeared somewhere during Daria's little detour, but she wasn't worried about it. Slowly, silently, she crept around the corner, locking eyes on her scared fiance, traces of terror evident on his face. " _Target sighted._ " She raised her gun, aimed, _POP, SPLAT!_ "WHAT?! OH COME ON!" Daria stomped in protest as she wiped the orange paint from her safety goggles. "I had him, man! You couldn't have waited five seconds?!"

"The madness had to end!" A familiar voice rang through the air as the Host Club's king jumped down from a nearby tree, landing gracefully in front of Daria. "Tamaki? When did you get here? Have you been playing the whole round?" Her confusion consumed her. " _How did I miss him?"_ Suddenly the rest of the Host Club members came seemingly out of the wood works, dragging with them a defeated Ayame, who looked as if heavenly orange Propylene Glycol had rained down upon her with extreme prejudice. She could hardly recognize her friend anymore, and instead was nearly convinced the twins had a hold of a real-life Oompa Loompa. "Yes, my exotic princess, we were here the whole time!" Tamaki shouted triumphantly, pointing a finger to the sky in the most dramatic way possible, as per usual. Ritsu and Tetsuya were busy brushing dirt and leaves off of them as they came to stand near the two girls, and Daria merely stared at the red head before simply raising her gun with one hand, training a completely emotionless expression on her face, and firing, hitting him in the stomach wit a green splat of paint.

"Hey! You're out! You can't hit me!" He complained, waving his hands wildly in protest. "Well I just did. Get over it." She announced before turning back to the Host Club. "What are you guy's doing here?" She asked. "Haruhi mentioned that sometimes commoners engage in small acts of battle using balls of paint and we just had to try it!" Tamaki then grabbed the poor girl in question and rubbed his cheek against the top of her head, making Daria feel bad for her. "Uh huh... Well then. Anyone up for another round?" All of the random people in the group ran away in horror as the twins cheered and Honey and Tamaki jumped around excitedly. Kyoya and Mori stood back in silence, both holding their guns in a defensive manner as Ritsu, Tetsuya and Ayame all prepped themselves for battle.

For the next few hours, war was hell. Allegiances were made and broken, dramatic death scenes were enacted (especially by the twins and Tamaki), and all of the teenagers seemed to revert back to their most primal instincts. Daria was pretty sure she saw Honey performing a sacrificial chant at one point, and Kyoya surprised them all by just going absolutely crazy and jumping up on top of a barrier and shooting everything in sight while yelling like the damn Hulk. All in all, it was a successful outlet for everyone to get out any frustrations they had with anything while painting their comrades and the landscape in a substance that required poison control to be contacted if it was ingested.

"Fear not, princess! Your king is on his way!" Tamaki yelled as he launched himself in front of Ayame, who retaliated by shooting not only her assailant, but him as well. Apparently he had forgotten they were on opposing teams. "HAVE YOU NO HONOR?!" Ayame once again took on heavy fire from the twins and Honey, all of which were determined to avenge their king, only to each be shot by Mori, who was atop a high structure acting as a sniper. Finally, after it had turned well past dark, the teenagers (and Ayame and Tetsuya) decided to all call it quits for the day, exhausted and sore and covered in welts from the many times they had each been hit by the small colorful spheres.

"Tamaki, I'm holding you responsible if I can't get this orange paint off of my eyebrow." Daria remarked, rubbing furiously at her forehead in an attempt to rid her skin of the offending substance. The blond gulped and hid behind Haruhi, as if she could protect him should the athletic American decide to pursue him. "Tamaki-senpai, please let go of me." the small girl sighed dryly, deadpanning as she attempted to peel the boy's fingers off of her shoulders. "But daddy is scared! You'll protect your father, won't you Haruhi?" Daria raised an eyebrow at the boy's delusions. "Tamaki-senpai, for the trillionth time, you're not my father." Tamaki gasped and retreated to the base of the tree he had been perched in earlier, a cloud of darkness and despair surrounding him as he sulked.

"OK, well we are gonna head home now. It was nice hanging out with you guys!" Tetsuya called out, wrapping his paint-covered arm around Ayame's waist and pulling her into his side, to which she giggled and reached up to kiss him on the cheek. "They seem happy. It's kinda hard to imagine that just a few minutes ago she was hunting him down like a wild animal so she could shoot him in the face." Daria commented, falling into step beside Ritsu. The boy let out a short laugh at this. "Yeah, it really is something. I wonder if we will ever be that way."

Daria stopped, causing Ritsu to turn around to look at her questioningly. "Are you OK, Daria?" He asked, making a step back toward her. "Yeah... Just... Do you want to be like that?" She asked him, biting her lip and suddenly seeming like the shy girl she had been when he had first met her. "Woah, don't worry about it. We don't have to be anything like that. I was just wondering." "But do you want to be like them? Do you not feel you can be like that with me?"

"The way I feel with you is like nothing I've ever experienced." He said, almost whispered, as he approached the object of his affections. "You don't have to worry about me having any negative feelings about being with you. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me." He stated gently, reaching his hand forward to gently take her own. "You're sure you don't feel trapped?" She asked, seeming more nervous than he had ever seen her and sounding as if she were edging on hysteria.

"You make me feel free, Daria, not trapped. With you, I don't worry about being put in a box where all I can look forward to is being a God Father of a gang and everyone around me being scared of me because of how my face looks." Daria looked up into his eyes, seeing honesty and sincerity there and nodding once before reaching up to kiss him quickly on the cheek. "OK, so long as you're happy." She sighed, pulling back and turning to head in the direction Tetsuya and Ayame had walked, pulling Ritsu behind her as their hands were still connected.

####

"You don't have to go, you know." Daria said quietly as Ritsu made to travel back to his own room for the night. He and Daria had been laying in her bed talking about anything that came to their minds since they had gotten home and it was now midnight. "What do you mean?" "I mean you can sleep in here if you want. You don't _have_ to leave just because we are both still conscious enough to be aware of our surroundings." Ritsu thought this over for a second before sinking back down into the bed beside her, maneuvering his way under the covers and turning to her. "OK, well the same goes for you then. If we are in my room, you don't have to leave either. You've always been welcome to sleep with me. I know it helps your nightmares." He said softly as he stroked the pad of his thumb over her cheekbone.

"You're the best, you know that?" She smiled, moving closer and rolling so her back was to him. Ritsu had discovered when he was taking care of her after her little breakdown that she preferred spooning to any other position of cuddling. He wrapped his toned arm around her firm middle and pulled her flush against him, stuffing his other arm under the pillow her head rested on. They laid in silence for a few minutes, and Ritsu contented himself with tracing the lines of the shadows made by the various objects in the room. The only light was shining out from behind the cracked closet door, Daria's solution to the fact that she didn't have a lamp and her overhead light was extremely bright.

"I wonder if we will both get to keep our rooms or if we have to decide which one we want. Or if we have to get an entirely new one." Ritsu felt his skin get warmer at the thought of sharing a room with the girl in his arms as he pondered the idea. "I have no idea, honestly. My old man hasn't mentioned anything about it." Daria began to squirm in his hold until she was turned back around to look at him. "Well which would you prefer?" She asked him, tracing patterns on his tee-shirt covered chest. "I guess I'd like for us to get our own room." He choked out, his voice an octave higher, typical of when he was nervous.

"I'd like that. Usually, in America, when two people get married, they get their own house or apartment, but that's kinda hard for us to do considering our situation." She said, biting her lip. Ritsu made a noise of agreement, stroking her hair gently. Her eyes met his suddenly and she slowly leaned forward until her lips ghosted across his own, making sparks shoot all throughout his body as he leaned in to complete the connection. They had only kissed twice before, but it had quickly become like a second nature to him. Their lips worked against each other slowly, sweetly, lazily and Ritsu moved so his weight was propped up on his elbow and he was hovering over her. Her right hand rested on his neck and her left arm wrapped around his back as she tilted her head, changing the angle and running her tongue lightly along his bottom lip. The kiss deepened then, their tongues dancing together, his experiencing something entirely new and hers remembering the dance like riding a bike.

He let out a gasp as she lightly bit his lower lip and moved his free hand down to her waist, running his thumb in small circles against her taught abdomen, rustling the fabric of her tee shirt there. Her own hands slinked down both of his sides and around to his back, resting against the exposed skin between the his pajama pants and the hem of his own shirt that had risen up a few inches, grazing her nails along the trail. A shiver ran up his spine and goosebumps covered both of his arms as a low growl erupted from the back of his throat, surprising him. He felt Daria smile against his lips as her hands raised higher, pushing his shirt up further, granting her access to his entire torso. She wasted no time in exploring the new-found territory, tracing every ridge of his toned (but not bulky) chest and abs and dragging her nails down his back, slightly harder than a feather, but not hard enough to leave any kind of mark.

Ritsu's own hand followed her lead and slipped beneath her shirt, contenting itself in rubbing up and down the side of her rib cage and waist. She pushed her chest up toward him instinctively, craving the skin on skin contact she had yet to ever experience with this boy that had come to occupy her almost every waking thought, and she gasped in pleasant surprise when he ran his tongue along the inside of her upper lip, getting more adventurous in his searching. "Ritsu..." She gasped almost silently against his lips, wanting more as her instincts took over.

But her instincts would have to wait, she discovered, when Ritsu pulled away, breathing heavily and staring into her eyes. His hand left the inside of her shirt and moved to caress her face as his eyes searched her own and he noted she too was breathing very rapidly. "We should probably get to sleep..." He finally said, his voice lower than usual and extremely husky, making Daria's knees quake beneath the covers. She nodded an affirmative after a minute, smiling widely and resuming her position with her back to him. Ritsu laid back down behind her, being sure to angle his hips away from her behind until he could settle down and wrapped his arm tightly back over her middle.

####

 **Author's Note: This is quite possibly the shortest chapter I will ever post, coming in at right about half the length of a normal chapter. I had to go to my uncle's for like almost a week, my computer is being stupid, the internet is being stupid, and my pet rat that has been fighting pneumonia for weeks died today. However, the second I get my student loans within the next few days, I am going to buy a new computer and just start writing up a storm, so keep a look out.**

 **Namaste,**

 **Fray 3**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

"Here you go, big boy." Daria said as she kindly placed a steaming mug of hot tea, which may as well have been half honey, into Ritsu's hands. "Tanks." He replied, his severely congested sinuses marring his ability to speak correctly. He made a snorting noise then, attempting to suck some snot back up into his head. "Nuh-uh. What did I tell you about that?" She admonished him as she tossed a box of tissues into his lap. "Sorry." He grabbed one and blew into it, reminding her of the alarm clock on SpongeBob. "Mhmm. I'm gonna go check on everyone else. I'll be back in a bit." Everyone had suddenly come down with a cold, but they were all acting like it was the absolute worst thing they had ever had to endure in their entire lives. Daria was perfectly healthy, however, and that left her in the role of mother hen. She began making her rounds, checking first on Tetsuya and Ayame, both of which were leaned up against his headboard groaning like they were Walking Dead extras. The cook was in his bed as well, surrounded by a sea of snotty tissues, Lee-Fu was leaning over a humidifier with a towel over his head, and Koh was passed out in the fetal position, snoring loudly with his mouth hanging open widely.

She shook her head as she made her way back into the kitchen to finish chopping the vegetables for the soup she was making. Smooth jazz danced out of the speakers in the corner of the room as she sliced carrots and onions and about five full heads of garlic, remembering her grandmother telling her when she was little that garlic in mass quantities could cure a cold quicker than anything, before dumping it all into the massive stock pot full of simmering broth and shredded chicken. The song changed as she rolled out and cut the dough into noodles, just like her grandmother had shown her when she was seven, and slipped those into the broth as well. For good measure, she decided to grind up a fist full of plain Vitamin C tablets as well, working them against the marble cutting board until they were a fine powder, dumping them in and stirring until they were completely dissolved into the soup. " _There. Maybe that will help those big babies._ " She had never seen anyone act as dramatically as they all were over a cold. Hell, she barely even complained when she had Swine Flu when she was fifteen, and that crap had killed a handful of people. Well… At least that's what the American Government had told them all. They had also said Ebola had made its way to the states, causing mass panic and wall-to-wall news coverage for all of like two months before it abruptly became obsolete. She wondered what that was meant to distract the public from….

Finally, the vegetables were soft, the broth was thick and Daria was done cooking. She carefully doled out six bowls worth of soup before placing a lid on the pot and moving the simple meals onto a large serving tray. With expert skill, she made her way out of the kitchen, snagging her mp3 player as she passed by, and made her rounds again. Tetsuya and Ayame, despite acting like they were zombies, decided to continue being adorable and feed each other. The cook thanked her profusely, leaning over his bowl and allowing the delicious smelling steam to wash over his face before greedily spooning the mixture into his mouth. Lee-Fu had her set his on his bedside table to cool, and Koh, the most dramatic of them all, required her help in sitting up before he could take his soup. Daria sighed as she headed back to Ritsu's room, pushing the door open with her foot and sliding in. "Here. This should help. Grandmother's secret recipe." She said wearily as she handed Ritsu his bowl and spoon. Not wanting to lose her momentum, she took the tank off his humidifier and headed to the bathroom, refilling it and placing another Vick's tab into it before returning to the room.

"How come you're not sick?" He asked her between bites as she sprawled out on the right side of his bed, which had become decidedly her side in any bed they shared together. "When the Europeans made their way to America, the natives rapidly contracted diseases such as smallpox, influenza, plague and even measles, among others, all of which killed the natives in mass numbers because they were not immune to the new diseases like the Europeans were. Europe had spent centuries building up a tolerance and even immunity to all of these different diseases, but the natives hadn't, so even though the Europeans weren't sick, they passed the illness on. The same happened vice versa. A lot of Europeans died from diseases which did not affect the natives, but the natives dying gets the most publicity because of the larger numbers." She spouted off the mini history lesson tiredly, her eyes shut and her tone unwaveringly even. She had been awake since three that morning thanks to Ritsu's coughing and hadn't had a chance to work out or study or even shower. _Nothing_ for herself, whatsoever, because everyone had caught the simple cold overnight and all required more attention than toddlers.

"So what we have, you gave it to us?" He asked her, slurping his soup after. "Not necessarily. If that were true, it wouldn't have taken this long to manifest. However, growing up on the move constantly and in foster care, you're around a lot of sick people, mostly kids. Whatever strain of cold you all have, I've obviously dealt with it a lot before, so I've built up an immunity. I won't get it as long as I don't eat or drink after any of you, kiss you or get sneezed on." She groaned as she heard Koh yelling for her and slowly hauled herself up off the bed and trudged out the door, heading in pursuit of her adoptive father's room to see just what in the hell he wanted now.

Chap stick. The 39-year-old man had called her in there… Because he wanted chap stick…. Unable to think of anything other than Napoleon Dynamite, she sighed and left to find him some, her search taking the better part of an hour, by which time everyone had decided they wanted more soup, water with Alka Seltzer, tea, chap stick of their own, more tissues, or for the tanks on their humidifiers to be refilled. Again. Finally, a moment of peace washed over the house, and she wasted no time in making herself her own bowl of soup and began to quickly shovel that, as well as a banana, some Tylenol and a glass of orange juice into her mouth, trying to hurry before someone decided they needed something again. She was exhausted by this point, wondering heavily how mothers were able to care for children without snapping and strangling them in their sleep, before she remembered that a surprisingly high number of women _do_ , do that and groaned to herself. "You should really get some rest, you know." She heard Ritsu mutter as he shuffled into the kitchen, the slippers Daria had insisted he wear in an attempt to keep him warm making a scuffing sound against the wood floor. His red hair was sticking up all over the place, not having been bothered with a hair tie, and his eyes had dark circles under them. His face was scrunched together in a frightening expression, brought on by the frustration of feeling so horribly, and his skin was even more pale than normal, which was saying something, but Daria was still struck by how handsome he looked to her, wrinkled pajamas, snotty red nose and all.

"Rest is for the weak." Was her only reply as she rinsed her dishes as well as his own that he had set in the sink and placed them in the dishwasher. She felt strong arms wrap around her waist from behind and leaned back against Ritsu's broad chest, resting her head back on his shoulder as he buried his face in the crook of her neck. "You're anything but weak." He mumbled against her skin before placing a light, closed-lip kiss on her shoulder. "But if you're gonna keep taking care of us all even though you don't have to, you need to take care of yourself first." She sighed, knowing full well that he was right and closed her eyes, pausing everything and taking a second to breathe. "Think you can hold down the fort while I take a shower, oh wise one?" She asked defeated. He hummed an affirmative, setting off to collect everyone's dishes and she made her way to her room to gather clothes before walking to the bathroom.

The hot water felt like heaven as it beat down on her and she smiled, just standing beneath the spray for a while. She scrubbed herself with a cooling spearmint body wash, soothing her tired muscles and spent more time than was necessary washing her hair, only finally deciding to get out when the water began to get cold. She hadn't even bothered shaving, but she honestly didn't care. She was practically wiping grown men's noses for them. Smooth legs be damned. It was still hot outside, being the beginning of September, and the house was a toasty 80 degrees thanks to everyone swearing they were freezing, so she had opted for a pair of short fluffy pajama shorts and a loose tee shirt, both of which she pulled on lazily, sitting on the lid of the toilet, not even caring enough to stand up. She combed out her faded purple hair and sloppily French braided it, a little off center to account for the shaved side, tying it off with about negative-three fucks given and trudged out of the bathroom, leaving her dirty clothes scattered about the floor since she and Ritsu were the only ones that used that particular bathroom anyway.

She once more made her rounds, telling everyone that she was going to sleep early and asking if they needed anything else for the night, informing them that the soup was still warm and in the pot on the stove if they wanted more and where the Vick's tabs were for their humidifiers. Fully confident in her ability to fend off the sickness they had all contracted, she decided to sleep in Ritsu's room rather than in her own alone, one so she could sleep soundly and without nightmares, and two because she wanted to be able to hear him if he was coughing in his sleep again so she could take care of him. He was the only one that hadn't annoyed her with his being sick, causing her to care for him more closely. If it was reverse psychology, then she decided he was a genius because she was too tired to care enough to figure out why he was not bothering her as much as everyone else. She fussed about, making sure the humidifier was full and that Ritsu was comfortable before making her way around the bed to her side and falling in. She was asleep before her head even hit the pillow.

####

"Hey, Kyoya?" Ritsu asked, looking to the bespectacled third year from his seat across the table. Everyone had gotten over being sick about two days prior, and he had decided to pay another visit to the Host Club on their non-guest day while Daria was in her therapy appointment. "Yes?" Was his only reply, his gaze never leaving the laptop he was typing furiously away at, as usual. "I wanted to know if you had any opinion on stereo systems and mp3 players. Like which ones were the best for their price, but not too expensive." Ritsu gulped nervously. The Shadow King looked at the Yakuza heir full on, the clacking of computer keys halting as the older male stared down the younger one. "Am I to assume this is for practical purposes? For, say, a certain American fiancé of yours? Or is this question purely hypothetical?" Ritsu guffawed, momentarily stunned by the fact that Kyoya knew about the engagement, as neither of them had breathed a word about it to anyone but his old man and Koh, but quickly reminded himself that this was _Kyoya_ _Ootori_ he was talking to, and snapped out of his surprised state.

"Practical purposes." He answered bravely, a proud edge to his voice. He had developed a certain alter ego in the time since he had met Daria, one that was extremely protective of her, which showed itself whenever he was talking to _anyone_ about her. "Very well then. I will do some research and get back to you." Kyoya replied decidedly. For a second, Ritsu was annoyed, knowing that the black-haired third Ootori son was only bothering to help him because he was profiting from these little visits the red-head paid to the Host Club, but he decided to instead be grateful for the help and breathed out a thank you right as the rest of the Host Club members finally tumbled out from the dressing room, each holding a new ridiculous costume for him to try on as they ran him through more dating scenarios.

####

"You seem a bit tired." Dr. Watana commented after they had sat in silence for a good ten minutes. "Huh? Oh, yeah. Sorry. Everyone's been sick." Daria replied, sounding as if she were in a daze as she blinked slowly and frequently, trying to wake herself up a bit. She sat up straighter, shaking her head and reaching for the bottle of water the receptionist had offered her upon her arrival for the wait. "And have you been sick?" Watana asked interestedly. "Mm, no. I'm healthy as an ox. I've just been playing mama bird for all those wusses. You'd think they'd know how to take care of themselves, but nooooo. They've practically been invalids since the first sneeze." Watana pondered this for a moment, crossing her legs and tapping the end of her pen against her lips lightly. "I see. And did that come naturally to you, taking on the role as caretaker?"

"Well, yeah. It's kind of hard to ignore six adults whining and moaning and leaving snot on everything. _Someone_ had to do it. May as well be the one who _isn't_ sick, right?" Again Watana pondered, and Daria stood up to walk around, trying to stay awake. "Would you say you want to be a mother someday, Daria?" The question certainly startled the teenage girl into a state of semi-wakefulness, if even only for a moment. "I'm not sure. I mean kids are fun and all, but they're hard work. A lot of responsibility." Watana nodded. "I see. Well that is certainly true, children _are_ hard work and are most definitely a lot of responsibility. But do you not feel yourself up to the task?" "Look, lady. I'm one of those feminists that doesn't believe for a second that a woman has to have kids to be a woman. I'm destined for so much more than simply being a mom." Watana made note on her yellow pad of Daria's defensive reaction before looking back up. "I never said you weren't. We are lucky to live in an age where women can be anything they want. You have a point, being a mother isn't what makes a woman. And you definitely don't have to choose one or the other. Women these days often choose to postpone parenthood until a later age, and doing things with your life and having kids don't have to be mutually exclusive, either. And of course, choosing not to have children is also an option, though highly stigmatized still by society, Japan's in particular. What I was getting at, however, was this: have you ever stopped to think that you are afraid of being a mother because of how you grew up? Are you afraid of becoming like your own mother? Do you truly think that because of your own life experiences, you would fail to be a good mother?"

The wind seemed to be knocked out of Daria, and for a second she mildly panicked, trying to remember to breathe. She was quiet for a long time, tossing the doctor's words over and over in her mind, trying to make sense of them. She certainly had never had any vision of herself being a good mother. In fact, now that she thought about it, whenever she had envisioned having children of her own, she pictured it being _exactly_ like how she had grown up. Then she had of course thought of the pain she would feel should her children ever be taken away from her and the thought made her want to puke. "Let's say you're right, hypothetically. How could I ever escape that? The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, daughters become their mothers, any cliché you could ever think of. They all point to the same thing: me being a horrible mother." Daria threw herself back down into her eat on the couch heavily, sighing. "Those are all true, for _some people_. Not all people. You're not your mother, you are Daria. You are a completely separate being from her. You are already so different. Sure, you slacked off and you partook in quite a bit of illegal activity, but you are taking steps to rectify those actions to try and shape a brighter future for yourself. And already it is impossible for you to be a mother like your own because you are seventeen and do not have a two-year-old child. Who and what you become is entirely up to you, no one else." Daria smiled a bit, a new bit of hope added to her resolve to do better for herself, and the tell-tale timer went off, signaling that their session for that week had ended.

####

Ritsu was on his hands and knees, up to his elbows in weeds when Daria finished her homework later that evening. She walked out to his little garden near the front corner of the property, smiling as she watched him work, methodically gripping the offensive growth at its base and pulling up swiftly for a few minutes. Grip, pull. Grip, pull. Grip, pull. Finally, she sank down onto her knees beside him, and he jumped damn near out of his skin. "AAHH! Holy shit, Daria! You scared the hell out of me!" He yelled, bracing his weight on his elbows, having fallen back onto his ass. Both of their chests heaved, his in calming terror and hers in hysterical laughter as she herself fell over and began to roll in the grass. All she had done was crouch down beside him. Damn, if that boy couldn't make her laugh.

"Yeah, yeah, it's real funny. Jerk." He grumbled, pulling an earbud Daria hadn't seen out of his ear and leaning forward to continue his work. "What are you listening to?" She asked curiously as she slipped on the extra pair of gloves that were sitting next to his various small gardening tools and reaching for a few of the many weeds still attempting to take over her fiancé's pride and joy. "Some band called Ludo. I found them when I was looking up something a few days ago. They aren't half bad." He explained distractedly. Daria nodded, smiling a bit. "They are pretty good. Very quirky but at the same time have a Secondhand Serenade quality to their lyrics." Ritsu agreed, secretly delighting himself in knowing exactly what she was saying. In the short time he had known her, his world had been opened to so many different new things and he was amazed at how much of it he actually really enjoyed and would never have known of were it not for her.

"That they do. How was therapy?" He made it a point to always ask her how her sessions with the doctor went, knowing that showing an interest showed he cared, which he most definitely did, and also knowing she needed someone to care for her after living such a hard life that required her to be so self-reliant. "It was good. Chock-full of revelations, despite the fact that I nodded off for like three minutes at one point." Ritsu smiled in a sad, apologetic way. Daria had worked her ass off taking care of everyone in the house over the long weekend and he couldn't be more grateful to her for it. But he could see the toll it had taken on her. She was exhausted. "Do you want to talk about these revelations?" He asked after a minute. He always made his best effort to offer his support and lend an ear should she need one, but also tried to remain as respectful as he could about the fact that not all things were easy to talk about. "We talked about me being a mom someday." Ritsu fell over. He sweat-dropped. He flailed. He blushed. He gasped like a fish. He twitched a bit. The whole display had Daria laughing again. She loved when he got like that. It was hilarious. "Don't worry. It was completely hypothetical. The revelation lied in the idea that I feel I wouldn't be good at it because I'm afraid I'll be like my mother." Ritsu recovered, but remained wary of their conversation should another statement surprise him so badly. "Well, for the record, I don't know the woman, but you're nothing like her." He said quietly as he continued pulling weeds. " _Where did all these damn things come from? I just weeded last week!"_ As he bitched silently to himself, Daria leaned over and draped her arms around his shoulder, hugging him sideways for a moment, causing both of them to smile.

########

 **Author's Note: Alright my loves, here is what was** ** _supposed_** **to be the rest of chapter 8. I'll do my best to keep all future chapters at their normal length. I have my new computer now so it should be easier to write. I don't have to worry about it lying to me anymore about what I've written being saved then discovering it all actually wasn't when the stupid thing crashes. Hopefully. Anyway, enjoy! Let me know what you think/feel. I love getting those reviews, but I'm not gonna beg for them like an attention-starved only child like most writers. lol**

 **Namaste,**

 **Fray**


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

"I'm so bored…." Daria groaned, flopping down onto her back on Ritsu's bed. She had been watching him type a paper on Japan's involvement in the second world war for two hours, having already finished all of her assignments for the week and not knowing what to do with herself. Ayame had gone on a three-day photography bender somewhere in, what she called, "the wilderness", which was actually just a small patch of trees that took up an acre, at most, in a nearby park, so she couldn't go bother her, and without Ayame there, Tetsuya had been busy sweeping up a storm (as well as doing all his normal chores and day-to-day human activities, but Daria chose to fixate on the sweeping). "Well I'm almost done with this. What do you want to do?" Ritsu asked her, flipping back and forth between his notes on the many different references he had researched. Daria didn't really have a basis for comparison, but apparently ever since he met her, he had gone from a C average student who couldn't care one way or another about school to a straight A go-getter that chose to type his reports on Friday nights a week before they were due. Just… Like he was doing… Now…. She hated the positive influence she had over him sometimes. She chuckled to herself at the irony. If he had met her even just a mere year and a half before, she would have been calling him lame for even _going_ to school and subsequently offered to sell him some seriously low-quality drugs.

"I don't know. We haven't gone out in a while. Check the list. Are there any movies that we wanted to see that are actually in theaters right now?" She asked, referring to the list they had compiled of all the cinematic features they each wanted to see. It got updated every time either of them saw an ad or trailer for something new that seemed interesting. "Nothing we haven't already seen. Next on the list isn't until October 16th." Damn. It was only September 22nd…. "Okay then that's out… And there aren't any festivals going on within reasonable travel distance this weekend… And if I have to step foot in that mall without a damn good reason then I'll probably have a panic attack…." For a moment there was only the sound of Ritsu's fingers typing away on the keys and Daria's severely hard thinking.

"Why is that, by the way?" He asked suddenly, glancing over at her briefly. "You don't have a problem with crowds whatsoever. You practically started a riot at the last festival we went to just because you were bored. So why do you hate the mall?" Daria was silent for a moment. "Probably because I grew up with the mall being a symbol of everything I couldn't afford. I honestly don't see the point in spending as much money as all those stores charge for the crap they sell. I grew up getting everything from thrift stores and homeless shelters and when I was in the system, whenever I needed new clothes or whatever else, I got something that was second-hand and donated." Ritsu nodded, remembering how uncomfortable she had seemed to feel at the registers of every single store they had gone to on their shopping adventure all those months ago.

Suddenly the sound of Ritsu's laptop closing reached Daria's ears, causing her to look up at him. "Well Tetsuya said that Ayame would be coming back this evening, so she should be here anytime now. If you're up to it, there's a night club that lets in teenagers. It's pretty popular. Last place I would ever usually go, but I'm feeling adventurous. We could all go there tonight." Daria mulled this over. She hadn't been in a club since she was fifteen, and certainly never one that _let_ anyone under 21 in. But she loved dancing…. "That sounds awesome. Good plan. A+ for you." She grinned and patted the top of his hair, having rolled so she was on her hands and knees, jumping about on the bed excitedly like a dog whose owner had just asked if they wanted to go for a walk. "OK, I'm gonna go get ready!" She suddenly leapt from the bed and ran out the door, leaving Ritsu shaking his head at her in amusement and rolling off the bed to head to his own closet.

Daria once again found herself staring at the contents of her closet in deep concentration, trying to think of what she wanted to wear. She wanted to look a little more done up than normal but she wanted to be able to dance like crazy all night… Decisions, decisions…. Suddenly her phone buzzed in her pocket, making her jump. She was still getting used to _having_ a phone. CPS never let her have one and foster parents would be damned if they would pay for one for her. She slid it out of her pocket and unlocked it, smiling when she saw it was a text message, the name "Kitty-Cat Boi" lighting up her screen, her name for Umehito.

U: Hey, what is my unofficial partner in all things dark and sinister doing?

She laughed to herself at his ridiculous word choice.

D: Getting ready to go hit up a club. Is the prince of darkness interested in mingling amongst a writhing display of carnal, unholy frolicking?

Her phone buzzed again.

U: I don't normally venture to such places, but when you put it like that, how could I resist? I'll meet you at your place in an hour.

She sent him the address and returned to her original problem at hand, only this time having a much easier time. She quickly pulled on some acid-washed, ripped up skinny jeans, a black bra that she had bedazzled in a bunch of spiky studs and pulled a Slipknot shirt with cuts down the sides over her head. She adorned her studded belt and a pair of bright yellow Chuck Taylors before setting to straightening her hair and rimming her eyes in smudgy black eyeliner and mascara. She looked in her full length mirror. _"Perfect."_ It was simple, being just a cut up tee shirt, jeans and sneakers, but she looked edgy. The fact that the slit shirt showed her sides all the way to her hips as well as her spiked bra gave her the air of someone dangerous, but her recently re-dyed dark purple hair and her nose piercing gave her a punk-rocky feel. She loved it.

There was suddenly a knock on her door, followed immediately by it opening to reveal Ayame dressed in a mini skirt and a flowy red halter top. Her hair was curled and her makeup was, for lack of a better term, on point. "Well don't you clean up nicely?" Daria smiled. "I do my best. Are you all done? Tetsuya is ready but your fiancé seems to be having some trouble. Daria laughed and rolled her eyes to herself. He was _always_ having trouble getting ready whenever he had to wear something other than his school uniform. "Yeah, I'm good. Let's go see if we can't speed this up, shall we?" The two girls ventured down the hall to Ritsu's closed door, hearing quite a bit of commotion on the other side. Without a second thought, Daria flung the door open, revealing Ritsu on the ground, desperately trying to untangle himself from the pants he had been hopping around trying to put on and Tetsuya calmly standing off to the side, holding a shirt.

"You're hopeless, you know that?" The teenage girl remarked, raising her eyebrow at the boy. He immediately flushed the shade of a tomato when he looked up and saw her standing there. "I… Uh…." He stumbled over his words, trying to think of something to say to them, not being used to having _any_ girl see him in his boxers, let alone two of them. Daria cut him off, laughing lightly as she walked over and helped him into a sitting position. "I honestly don't even know how you function when Tetsuya and I aren't around. It's not like you're an invalid, but you're clumsier than me sometimes. Pants are like a bear trap to you, I swear." Ritsu growled, causing both Tetsuya and Ayame to stiffen in momentary fear of being caught in the young lord's wrath, but Daria just growled back, baring her teeth in the most ridiculous way, making her seem like a wolf cub trying to look tough. It worked; Tetsuya and Ayame cowered a little bit, but to Ritsu, she just looked adorable. The two teenagers laughed at each other, allowing the other two occupants of the room to relax, and Daria offered her red-headed companion a helping hand up. Within two minutes, Ritsu was fully dressed (much to Daria's disappointment. She was really enjoying looking at him shirtless), and the four of them were headed out the door just in time to see a limo pull up at the front gate of the property.

"Looks like our ride's here." Daria said, skipping down the path, waving to all the men that had gathered to wish the small group safe travels.

####

The ride to the club was silent. They were all packed into the back of the limo Umehito had shown up in, Daria sitting beside her friend playing some off-version of Frogger on her phone, Ritsu on the sideways bench on the left side of the vehicle, and Tetsuya and Ayame close together on the right bench. The two were damn near "canoodling", as Daria had put it, and the dark-clad teenager would swear they were doing much more nefarious things if he couldn't plainly see that they were both still properly clothed. Umehito himself had opted to forgo his usual attire, at Daria's suggestion, and had instead donned a pair of black jeans, a long-sleeved black shirt, a black leather jacket, fingerless leather gloves and a pair of basic Chuck Taylors. He still wore his black wig, though, and had combed it so that it covered his face as much as possible. "So… Uh… Daria…." The mob-boss's son droned out in a deep voice, reaching up to rub the back of his neck as his knee began to bounce a little. "Yes, oh articulate one?" Daria's sassy voice replied after a second, her eyebrow quirking up as she stared at her phone distractedly, quickly swiping in all directions to avoid being killed. "How uh… How do you know Nekozawa-senpai?"

Suddenly, she looked up at the red-head, staring at him confusedly and Umehito could see her little blip of a character get run over by a box shape on her screen. "We met when I was coming to save you from the Host Club a few months ago. I've hung out with him a few times when you've gone to participate in whatever strange form of torture it is that you seek out from them, remember?" Umehito remained silent as he looked back and forth between the two scary looking people, interested in the odd exchange. He was familiar with the "torture" she spoke of. His own moment of seeking help from the school's most popular club hadn't exactly been painless. "Oh, this is the guy? You didn't mention a name." Daria stared at the floor for a moment, her features scrunched in an incredibly perplexed expression. "Huh. I could have sworn I did. Well, it was him." She smiled up at her friend, leaning over to nudge him slightly with her shoulder. He smiled back as he glanced surreptitiously at the yakuza heir out of the corner of his eye, fearful of the intense look of plain jealousy that settled on his terrifying face. Daria seemed completely oblivious to the look, but Umehito was very careful in that moment not to do anything that could be misinterpreted.

Seeing exactly who he was picking up was a shock to him, as well. Daria had mentioned a guy named Ritsu in their conversations a few times, but had never actually revealed a last name, and judging by the short conversation she had had with the scary boy, things like that slipping her mind seemed to be a habit. Not malicious, just inconvenient. She had also never mentioned that they were a couple, and while it appeared that it wasn't exactly a fact of public knowledge, like the one between the two canoodlers on the other side of his limo, it was clear to Umehito that the two of them shared strong feelings for each other. " _Well that's good considering they live together…."_ He thought to himself, noting his slight, delinquent relief at the discovery that she had a guy in her life, meaning she didn't have eyes on him. He had come to love the girl in the short time he had known her, admiring her unique individuality and selfless nature as well as the fact that she easily connected with him (something that hardly _anyone_ was able to do), but he could never see her that way.

Try as he might over the years, the lad had never been able to even bat an eye at a woman. He most certainly played for the same team his friend did, though he had yet to reveal that little bit of information to anyone other than himself, and even that had only happened very recently. He sighed to himself, his thoughts drifting to his family's expectations concerning a proper marriage, one that would most likely be arranged, as per traditional Japanese custom, and eventually, an heir. The question was, however, how could he produce an heir when he couldn't even perform the act necessary to create one? Just the thought of doing that made him uncomfortable. He fought for years in secret to try and make himself feel for a woman, _any_ woman, the feelings he felt when he saw a man who was even just _slightly_ attractive by normal standards, but it was all in vain. He had finally told himself to give up, that he would never feel the way his family and society deem he should, but he also was trapped by that inability, unable to tell his family for fear of being disowned and disgracing his name, unable to tell even his club members for fear of being shunned, and unable to tell his friend for fear of losing one of the only two people that meant the world to him. The entire ordeal was the majority of his feeling of isolation. He could easily find acquaintances in the dark, but finding people who would accept that side of him was a much harder task….

He was suddenly shaken out of his thoughts by Daria _literally_ shaking him. Rather violently, he might add. "OK! You have my attentionnnnnnnnnn!" He yelled at her as she continued to shake him. "Good. You spaced out for like ever. We're here!" She smiled and crawled her way out of the vehicle to join her house-mates, who had already made their exit. He sighed, gathering up all his courage, and slid out to join them as they grabbed a spot in the line that wrapped around the corner of the building, leading to the door. Tonight would be a very interesting night for Umehito, that was for certain.

####

The evening had gone dark by the time the small group reached the door. Daria had been talking to Nekozawa about something called the Rocky Horror Picture Show, a film the girl had then swore she would make Ritsu watch when they had their next movie night, and he had nodded in affirmation. The conversation the two teenagers had been having made the movie sound incredibly ridiculous and interestingly entertaining to Ritsu, two traits he had come to find he rather enjoyed in movies. Out of everything the girl had shown her, he didn't really get into the action movies like she did, but he certainly loved the musicals like Hairspray and Le Mis as well as the campier movies. Sharknado 2 still reigned as his all-time favorite, much to his own and Daria's surprise. She had once said that she expected him to prefer pieces like those produced by Quinten Tarantino, and while he found those movies provocative and applauded them for how well-done they were, he just absolutely loved stupid, ridiculous, nonsensical movies.

His feelings of jealousy toward the creepy guy had dimmed, but not completely gone away. This was in part to the fact that Daria leaned into Ritsu, using him as support and allowing him to wrap his arm around her waist to pull her in closer as she and Nekozawa chattered on, and also in part to the small, almost impercievable glances he saw the boy sneaking over at another group slightly behind them. Upon performing a little recon, in the form of turning around abruptly and not in the least bit discreetly, he assumed the guy was eyeing the petite blond that was clad in a skin tight, shimmering mini dress and smoking a cigarette as she talked to what appeared to be her incredibly masculine, _ripped_ boyfriend. The guy had balls, he had to admit. That hulk of a dude could rip the lanky occult-loving weirdo in two without even breaking a sweat, and while the girl was pretty, it wasn't like she was remarkable in any way. But if he was into that, he was into that. Who was he to judge? So long as he didn't try to move in on Daria, Ritsu was completely fine with whoever the other teenager chose to pursue.

"I need to see some IDs." The stocky bouncer said gruffly. Each of them handing over their respective forms of identification. He nodded as he reviewed each one, wrapping green bands around Ayame and Tetsuya's wrists, indicating they were allowed to drink since they were both older than 20, and marking the backs of each of the remainder of the group's hands with black X's. They made their way inside, immediately being accosted by the loud, thumping electronic music the DJ was spinning and walking into a wall of body heat produced by the huge pit of people dancing not too far in front of them. The overhead air conditioning units were running full blast and doing a remarkable job at cooling, but they were no match for the competing kinetic energy being created on the dance floor.

Suddenly Ritsu was being dragged toward the confusing mass of bodies by his wrist, which seemed to be in a vice grip, and beside him he could see Nekozawa suffering the same fate, a matching look of terror on both of their faces. _Neither_ of them had done this before. In a matter of seconds, she had somehow fought her way to the center of the floor, dragging them with her the entire way, and finally planted herself, moving the two so that Ritsu was at her back and Nekozawa was at her front, facing her, and she began to dance, swaying and jerking to the music like a pro, while her two companions stood there awkwardly, not knowing what to do. He couldn't hear her, but Ritsu saw her laugh hysterically after a moment before she reached back and grabbed his hands, placing them on her hips and pulling him flush against her, grinding her backside against him, provoking an immediate biological response that made the boy glad it was dark enough to hide his blush, and forcing him to sway with her. She then grabbed Nekozawa's hands, and for a second, Ritsu's temper flared, thinking she was going to guide them to her waist, but instead she just continued to hold them, lifting them up as she danced with him, smiling like a mad woman and helping the awkward teenage boy move along to the music as well. Finally, Ritsu found his groove and rolled with it, swaying to the music and grinding against his immeasurably attractive fiancé, and actually found himself having a good time. He even found joy in watching Daria dance with Nekozawa, who had also apparently found his groove. He appeared slightly more new-born-giraffe than Ritsu felt he himself looked, but with Daria's aide, it seemed to be working for him. The three of them continued like that for a while, Ritsu guessed at least half an hour went by before Daria broke formation, guiding the two out of the pit and toward the bar to order three bottles of water.

The three of them drank greedily, parched from the physical activity, Nekozawa more than Daria and Ritsu, bringing the red-head to the realization that the Russian-descended arms dealer didn't work out much, if at all. This brought a small smug smile to Ritsu's face in a moment of testosterone-driven satisfaction, his primal instincts telling him he could take the guy in a fight to defend what was his, even though the rational side of his brain told him that was ridiculous because such an event would never happen. Still, it boosted his self-esteem a little. "How are you feeling, Umie? The flashing lights aren't bothering you are they?" Ritsu's silent moment of unwarranted manliness deflated as he observed the two interact, interested in the subject matter. "No, I'm fine. They don't appear to be emitting the same frequency of UV light as the sun does, so it shouldn't be a problem." Daria nodded, and Ritsu remained confused. Sure, the guy hated the light, but why would it physically bother him? "OK, good. If you need it, though, I've got more of that lotion in the pocket of my sweatshirt in the car." The black-clad teenager nodded gratefully to the girl, confusing the red-head even more, and ordered another bottle of water.

####

A little while later, after searching very dedicatedly, the trio finally found Tetsuya and Ayame near the back wall that was lined with booths and tables, joined with a group of what was apparently Ayame's peers from one of her classes, and the whole lot of them were engaged in a drinking game though already completely smashed. Ayame's blouse had a drying spot of vodka across her chest and Tetsuya's hair was sticky with liquor that had somehow gotten poured over his head and they seemed to be having the time of their lives. Daria winced as she imagined the hangover the two of them would be suffering in the morning, already mentally preparing an attack plan for easing their pain, continuing her role as mama bird, but quickly pushed the thoughts away, finding amusement in their antics.

"Mind if we have a sit?" Daria asked, quirking a smile as she slid into the booth next to Ayame, not bothering to wait for a response. The whole group shifted to make room as her two companions slid in beside her, Umehito directly to her right and Ritsu on his other side. One of Ayame's friends, a delightfully hammered German man, laughed at some joke one of his mates had made and poured another round, offering the three newcomers each a spot of happy water but respectfully digressing when they each politely declined. Daria had had her life's fill of drinking when she ended up in the hospital with alcohol poisoning, having run with the best of them and handled the challenge of out-drinking a burly cocaine mule. She had defeated him in a blaze of glory, then the next thing she knew, she woke up the next evening feeling horrible and with the worst stomach ache she had ever experienced, a result of having to have her stomach pumped.

"OK, new game! Quarters!" Everyone boisterously agreed, clearing the table to set up. "Alright, since I'm not drinking tonight, I'll point to whoever gets to drink for me every time I make a shot, capiche?" She smiled, earning a chorus of yeses and Oks in return before she lined up the coin Tetsuya had handed her and bounced it, watching victoriously as it landed directly into the cup in front of her. She pointed to the Polish woman next to the German to take the drink, which she did in one gulp. The game continued like this, Daria kicking everyone's asses thanks to the fact that she was completely sober and had had quite a bit of practice with the game, and the two teenage boys simply observed, both smiling at how enthralled Daria became with the game. It didn't take long for Ayame to pass out on Tetsuya's shoulder, who was incredibly rosy-cheeked and nodding off himself, trying hard to stay conscious. The Polish girl had stumbled off to the bathroom to puke and some random woman had come over and sat herself on the German guy's lap and started making out with him furiously. The other member of their group, a middle eastern guy, was drunkenly moving the game coin across the table top, making car noises and giggling hysterically to himself.

The trio left the group shortly after that, moving back out onto the dance floor to resume their motions from earlier. None of them knew how long they were out there, grinding and swaying to the heavy, fast paced music, but they didn't care. The three of them were having the time of their lives, the boys enjoying participating in something new, and Daria enjoying an activity she had always enjoyed, only this time she was actually sober and with people she trusted as more than just gang-mates. They were her friends, and Ritsu was even more than that, and she couldn't be happier than she was in this moment, just dancing to some music with good company, getting out all the energy that had been pent up earlier that evening in Ritsu's room as she had been watching him type his paper.

####

Daria had glanced at her phone some time later, shocked to see it was already midnight. It seemed to the three that they had only just arrived, and somehow it had already been three hours since they had entered the door to the club. They took a break again, Daria and Umehito moving to a table while Ritsu went to the bar to get them more water. The two plopped down in their seats heavily as they waited for their third. "I am damn glad I wore sneakers. My feet would never forgive me if I had worn anything with any kind of heel." Daria remarked, laughing to herself. Umehito chuckled along too, not knowing from experience, but having the knowledge nonetheless that women in heels do not mix with heavy physical activity very well. The two chatted on lightly for a few minutes before Daria leaned forward, resting her weight on her crossed arms against the table. "You know, that guy seems to like you too. You should go talk to him."

Umehito's head immediately whipped in her direction, his eyes as wide as they could possibly ever go and his mouth agape, making Daria giggle as he sputtered much in the same way Ritsu often did. "What? You think I didn't know? I'm your friend, Umie. It's my job to know these things." She continued to laugh. This went on for a good five minutes before he could string together a proper sentence, and even then it was just "HOW?!" He flailed his arms around and the table shook slightly as both of his legs bounced along with his nerves. Daria simply reached out and took his hand in hers, giving it a squeeze. "You were eyeing him the entire time we were in line, and every time we've passed him, you've practically stripped him down to his skivvies with your eyes. And like I said, you're my friend. I'd be a damn bad one if I didn't notice that I could most definitely talk abs and those amazing hip-dippy-things with you.

"You're literally the _only_ one that knows. I don't know how to talk to a guy! I can chant dark magic curses as long as the moon is bright, but articulating words of interest to a man is not in my book of spells at all." The poor boy started hyperventilating, to which Daria stood and moved behind him, raising both of his arms above his head to help him breathe better. "Are we calm? Yes? OK." Umehito focused on breathing for a moment before looking back up at her as she reclaimed her seat beside him. "If you can't strike up a conversation yourself, then I'll be your wing man. How about that?" She asked, causing a look of confusion to settle over the shy boy's face. She let out a few chuckles before rising again. "Watch and learn, young padawan." Was all she said before she marched off in the direction of the well-built guy Umehito had been ogling all night. He watched in wonder and frightened anticipation as she spoke to the man confidently for a few minutes, blushed when she turned and gestured to him, had to force himself to breathe properly again when the man smirked and nodded, his mouth moving as he spoke a few more words to the purple haired girl, and nearly withered away when they both began to make their way to where he sat at the table.

"Umie, this is Hachiro. Hachiro, this is Umehito." Daria smiled once they had reached the table. The wig-wearing boy squeaked out a meek hello, making the large man to her left rumble out a hearty laugh. No more words were exchanged as Hachiro reached forward, grabbing the teenage boy's hand and pulling him up and close to him, turning and leading him off to the dance floor, his hand placed dangerously low on the smaller guy's back.

####

Daria sat down in her seat, smiling after her friend as he turned and pressed against Hachiro the way she had been doing to Ritsu all night. They both danced, Hachiro's hands firmly placed on Umehito's hips as they moved, and after a minute her friend lost his awkwardness and became more fluid as he began to _really_ enjoy himself. The sight made Daria happy, glad she could help him have a minute where he didn't have to hide who he really was, where he could just have fun and be Umehito. Her mood was soured in the next second, however, when a gangly guy who had a shaved head, skull tattoo and gauged ears meandered into her bubble. He was clearly buzzed and held a bottle of beer in his hand. His breath reeked of booze, making Daria's stomach turn. "Hey there, baby. What's a pretty young thang like you doing over here alone?" He slurred as he seriously invaded her personal space. "Waiting on my fiancé." She replied dryly, shoving the sleaze ball away from her. "Oh come on, don't be like that. I don't see a ring." He grinned, revealing yellowed teeth, and Daria rolled her eyes before fixing her features in a deadly glare. "I don't need one. Now go the fuck away." She didn't have time for this shit. She had been in too many situations like this to make the mistake of not shutting it down immediately, not bothering with manners whatsoever. Suddenly he grabbed her arm, gripping it tight and getting in her face. "Listen here you little bitch!"

####

Ritsu returned a moment later, two and a half bottles of water in his grasp. He had quenched his thirst on the way over from the bar. The scene he stumbled upon was definitely not what he expected. He broke through the crowd just in time to see some disgusting creep snatch Daria's arm in a tight grip and move until his face was inches from hers. He lunged forward, determined to intervene, when suddenly the guy's attempt to say something was cut short. In one fluid motion, Daria punched up with her left fist, catching the guy under the chin, sprang up from her chair and turned, flipping the guy so that he landed hard on the concrete floor on his back, wheezing and gasping for air. She delivered a swift kick to his side and leaned down so her hands were braced on her knees, hovering above him. "Listen _here_ you arrogant, disgusting piece of shit! Don't you _ever_ lay a hand on another woman again! Do you understand me?!" She screamed in his face, drawing even more attention from the people in the immediate area. He gave a small nod. "Good! Now get the fuck out of here!" He quickly scrambled to stand up and fled, disappearing from sight.

"What the fuck was that?" Ritsu asked as he sat down in the other chair that had been pulled out. "Just some asshole. Nothing I can't handle." She replied lightly, sounding as if she were talking about a minor traffic jam as she took a bottle of water from him. "Where is Nekozawa?" He then asked, noticing their companion was nowhere to be seen. Daria only made a hand gesture, directing his attention over to the edge of the dancing crowd. Ritsu was floored then, almost literally falling out of his seat when he spotted Nekozawa, entangled in the arms of the muscular guy he had seen in line earlier that evening, both of them grinding against each other desperately, looking like two animals attempting to mate on a wildlife documentary. He stared for a good five minutes before he felt Daria's fingers under his chin, closing his mouth for him.

"What the hell?" He whipped around to face her, completely bewildered. "What? He's had his eyes on Hachiro since we got here. I figured it'd be stupid for them not to have at least a dance, so I introduced them." Ritsu's mind was swimming in all of this new information. Not only had he had no reason whatsoever to be jealous of the interactions between Daria and Nekozawa, but he had been wrong about the blond. He was staring at the body builder and not the woman? "Calm down, Ritsu. He's gay, not a domestic terrorist." He finally collected himself, leaning back in his chair and nodding once. "Well, so long as he's happy, then." Was his only response as he lifted his water bottle to his lips.


	11. Chapter 11

**Warning: This chapter touches on child molestation**

Chapter 11

A small stream of sunlight peeked out from around the blackout curtains of the only window in the room, and dammit, it just _had_ to be glaring right into Daria's eye like a frickin homing beacon from the mothership. An entire room to choose from and it just had to be shining on _her eye_ , of all places. Grumbling, she yanked the duvet over her head and rolled over, burrowing as deep into the covers as she could, only ceasing her nocturnal animal-like behavior when she realized she was digging her way underneath another body. One beat, two beats, and suddenly that body began to stir, rolling over and flinging an arm over her, gripping her tightly to a broad, for some reason _bare_ chest. Not that she was complaining.

"Why… you awake… mpf…." A voice heavy with sleep slurred out, and Daria glanced up to see that her sleeping buddy's eyes had yet to even open and that it's bright red hair was matted to its face in some places and sticking up all over the place in others. "The damn light." Was all she growled in response, burying her face in the smooth chest in front of her and resuming her burrowing, resulting in the body just rolling over completely on top of her, squishing her into the mattress and almost suffocating her as it attempted to halt her squirming. "Ritsu, you're crushing me." She mumbled against his skin, unable to move her face as it was held in place by the solid form. "That sucks." One beat later, she heard light snoring, forcing her to growl and shove him off of her powerfully. He landed on the floor. Hard.

"Hey! What the hell was that for?!" He squawked, kicking his feet like a child and glaring up at her hard enough to frighten even the toughest of men. She merely flipped him the bird and proceeded to wrap herself up in the duvet and move around on the bed like an inch worm, claiming she was a caterpillar spinning a cocoon so she can hibernate and become a pretty butterfly. But hopefully a huge one, so she could fly around and scare people. Ritsu deadpanned. "It's too early for your shit right now. I need coffee." He hauled himself off of the floor and stumbled to the door, ignoring the strange mewling velociraptor sounds his fiancé was making from her "cocoon" and making a drunken beeline for the kitchen.

"No respect for the natural process. How else am I supposed to become a terrifying insect?" Daria grumbled out loud to herself, log rolling around on the bed until she herself fell onto the floor, right where Ritsu had just been, and laid there. She didn't move for a good ten minutes, but then miraculously popped out of her cocoon, unnaturally bright eyed and bushy tailed for someone who had just referred to a small sliver of light as a "beacon from the mothership". Her clock informed her that it was nine in the morning, meaning she had only gotten six hours of sleep thanks to them staying at the night club until two the night before, but she was oddly okay with that. In a flash of energy, she changed her clothes, combed out and loosely braided her hair, and ran out her door, determined to annoy Ritsu as much as humanly possible before he was fully awake.

####

"Son, I need to speak with you for a minute." Lee-Fu said from behind Ritsu, making the teenage boy jump. He hadn't heard anyone enter the room. "Yeah, sure. I'll be right there." He replied, his voice still a little dry and scratchy. He had only just finally gotten rid of Daria, redirecting her incomprehensible energy toward the gym; at least until he was awake enough to be able to handle all of the hyperactivity. Or until she was done working out. Whichever happened second. He downed the last bit of his coffee, refilled the mug, and made his way to his old man's study at the front of the house.

"Please, have a seat." The older man offered, cautious of his son's mood. Ritsu plopped down on the floor pillow, taking a sip of his coffee and squaring his shoulders, preparing himself for whatever was about to be discussed. "I would like for you to start attending business meetings with me." Well that definitely caught him off guard. "Okay? Why?" He asked, looking at his old man in confusion. "You've done a terrific job bonding with your fiancé. Better than I could have ever hoped for. I can't tell you how proud it makes me to see you so happy, to see you two so close. I know your mother would be overjoyed." They sat in silence for a moment, Lee-Fu remembering his wife fondly, and Ritsu dwelling on the image of his long-gone mother that his old man had painted for him over the years, wishing he could have gotten to know the woman. "And so," the yakuza God Father continued, "I feel now is as good a time as ever to start showing you the business. This will all be your responsibility one day; your legacy. Only you can uphold the honor of this family and this gang and bring them into the future. I want you to attend business meetings so you can see how they are handled and get to know the ins and outs of our dealings."

Ritsu nodded, pondering this heavily. He couldn't exactly say no, all things considered, but he weighed the meaning of it all more heavily than he ever would have before. Just like with school, he had grown up not giving a damn one way or another that he was destined to one day be the God Father of this gang, but now? Meeting Daria had definitely changed a lot in him. He was more confident, more open minded, more driven. He had real reasons to care about his future. He had more than just himself to think about, and therefore needed to do everything he could to make a good life for his small, albeit large in the grand scheme of things, family. And that was definitely what he had now, a family. Before Daria had made her grand arrival into his life, he only considered his old man to be his family, and he was distant at best. Everyone else in his life were just his gang's members, or in Tetsuya's case, his only friend. Other than that, he was a complete loner. Now? Daria was his family, Tetsuya was his family, and Ayame and Nekozawa didn't seem to be exiting his life anytime soon, if ever, so he felt a duty to do all he could to help and protect them both if they ever needed it. Being the head of the Kasanoda-Gumi syndicate gave him the ability to do that, so his new goal became, in that instant, to become the best he could possibly be for the position. Ritsu bowed his head respectfully.

"I am honored, Father. When is the next meeting?" Lee-Fu was stunned, his jaw dropping. That was the first time his son had called him "father" in over twelve years. "It uh…" He stuttered, seemingly unable to collect himself properly. "It's this evening. Seven o'clock, in the dining room." Ritsu nodded, humbled by his father's generosity and by his new responsibility. "Yes, sir. I'll be there. Please, excuse me. I have some things to attend to for the day." Lee-Fu nodded, still stunned into silence as his son stood and exited the room, sipping on his coffee.

####

"Business meetings, huh? Well that sounds incredibly… Informative." Daria said airily, pondering the idea. "Yeah. It does." Ritsu replied, his eyes still trained on the clouds above them. They were both laying in the grass under the tree in the front yard, gazing up at the sky. "It'll be good though. I can't exactly take over if I don't know what I'm doing. You asked me what kind of things we deal in, and I don't even know. I guess I'll find out tonight." Daria nodded, thinking back to the various meetings she had had to attend when she was a member of the Shadow Clan. They were a small gang, but they dabbled in the basics; drugs, weapons, turf wars. She wondered if Ritsu was prepared for the type of knowledge that was about to be dropped on him. She knew he wasn't stupid, and that Lee-Fu had spent his entire life molding him into the perfect Gangster, but for crying out loud, the boy didn't even hardly listen to music before she had gotten ahold of him. He had built up a wall to separate himself from the immediate world around him.

"You'll be great. I know it. The leader of the gang I used to run with back in Washington was completely inept and he was still able to hold his own. You're way more intelligent and driven than he was." She felt his eyes shift to study her, and without looking at him, she knew his expression was one of bewilderment. "You never mentioned you were in a gang." He said, his voice low. She sighed heavily. "Yeah. That's because I'm not exactly proud of it. Being fifteen years old and specializing in pick pocketing for a gang full of men that were all at least five years older than me isn't exactly something I'm confident in enough to put on my resume." A moment of silence settle between them. "Then why did you stay with them?" He asked, entranced by the opportunity to learn more about her past. "Because they gave me a place to go when I ran away from my foster homes. Orphanages were harder to get away from, but the second I got placed in a foster home, I bolted the first chance I got. I didn't want to chance ending up the way I did when I was ten, and the Shadow Clan gave me somewhere to hole up and make sure I was safe. It was all about the lesser of two evils of self-preservation."

She sighed, rolling to look back at him. "Is that what you're still doing? Choosing the lesser of two evils?" His eyes conveyed the pain and panic she was sure he was feeling. He meant the world to her, and that had led her to believe that she also meant the world to him. She couldn't imagine being told she was just the less-crappy option. That wasn't what he was at all. She reached out and took his hand into her own, squeezing it reassuringly. "That decision was what brought me here, yes, but that's not what I am doing anymore. I love my life here. I love my life with you. I wouldn't want to be anywhere else but here." She watched him relax very visibly and gave him a small reassuring smile.

"I'm glad." He said finally, lacing their fingers together and smiling brilliantly back at her. "Because I love my life with you too." He pulled her forward, gently kissing her. She smiled against his lips, reciprocating the gesture, scooting until she was flush against him and hooking her leg over his hip. Her tongue traced his lower lip and his own dipped out to meet it, causing them to dance together as the kiss became more fervent. She was suddenly rolled onto her back as he hovered over her, their lips never leaving one another, and her hands began to roam his back and shoulders, tracing every ripple of the muscle he had developed since she had begun training him in self-defense. She would be lying if she said she didn't enjoy his body. It was an absolute masterpiece. She giggled into the kiss as she lightly bit his lip, causing him to growl and move his attention to her neck, trailing kisses up and down the column of her throat and along her jaw line.

"A-hem." They both froze, their faces flushing blood red as they scrambled into a more decent position and faced the newest addition to their party. Tetsuya stood there, broom in hand and a smart-ass grin on his face at having caught them canoodling out on the grass. "Young Lord, your father wishes to know what you would like for dinner. He wants to put in a special request to mark the occasion." Ritsu rubbed the back of his neck, clearly embarrassed, and glanced to the side to look at Daria, who was biting her lip something fierce. "Well… If he insists, I'd like some good burgers. Do you think the cook knows how to make them?" He asked, looking up at his blond friend. "Hmm…" The older boy hummed, thinking hard. "You know, I'm not sure. I could go ask, if you would like?"

"No need, Tetsuya. I'll go talk to the cook. I can teach him if he doesn't." Daria offered as she stood, brushing any grass off of her clothes and smiling down at her red-headed companion, thrilled that he wanted burgers over anything else. She had been craving them lately but had been too lazy to bother making them. "Alright. I'll go let the boss know." The blond smiled, nodding to the two and heading off into the house. Daria extended a hand to help Ritsu stand from his place on the ground. "Well that was sufficiently embarrassing." She said, chuckling a little. "Yeah, no doubt." He grumbled, looking at the grass by his foot, suddenly finding it the most interesting thing in the world. Daria let him stew in his self-consciousness for a few seconds before hooking her finger under his chin and raising it until his gaze met her own. "It's fine though." She smiled, then leaned in until her lips were right next to his ear, whispering huskily. "If you had kept kissing my neck like that, I would have done something completely inappropriate for the front yard." Ritsu's face immediately colored, pulsing with how flustered he had become and the rest of him flailing to hide a certain area of his body from her view as his mind ran wild, causing her to laugh heartily at him and walk off in the direction of the kitchen in search of the cook.

####

"Greetings, Young Lord!" All of the men in the room shouted in unison when Ritsu entered the dining room, causing him to sigh inwardly as he lowered himself, bowing in respect. He silently made his way to the only empty seat in the room, to his old man's right, and sat down, keeping his back straight and his face as neutral as possible. He could see a good deal of the men surrounding him still tensed and his confidence wavered a little bit, but he drew a deep breath and held his head high, determined to show that there was more to him as a leader than just a scary face. "Alright, now that we are all here, let's begin." Lee-Fu started, looking around to everyone in the room. "Daichi, report."

"Hai. Last night one of our warehouses over by the stock yards was broken in to. There weren't many assailants, and their little raid did not gain them very much, but they disappeared before we could properly react." Lee-Fu leaned forward, rubbing his jaw in irritation. "I see. What did they make off with?" Koh stepped forward, a freshly prepared inventory sheet in his hand. "Six adaptive combat rifles, two pistols, and a belt full of grenades." Koh never was one to waste words. He bowed his head and stepped back into his original spot while Daichi continued his report. "It appears they were just casing it out and grabbed whatever they could hold before they bolted. Such an unrefined act means it's highly unlikely that it was anyone big, ruling out Sendo-Kai, Inagawa-Kai, Yamaguchi-Gumi, and Sumiyoshi-Kai. It's likely it was just a couple of punks doing shit they shouldn't be doing, but I suggest, my lord, that we implement defensive measures until we can get the situation sorted out." Lee-Fu nodded, seeming deep in thought.

"An excellent suggestion, Daichi. Hideki, where are we on that deal with Braga?" Ritsu watched as the shorter, lanky looking man stepped into view at the end of the table and bowed. "I spoke with his man, Calderon, yesterday. Braga has accepted our offer and we can expect 6,803 kilograms of high-grade cocaine by the end of the month. Upon receipt, it will be sent directly to our workers who will cut it and then it will be ready for distribution." Ritsu had to stop himself from blanching. That was a _lot_ of cocaine…. "Good. Good. Well done, all of you." The boss clapped his hands, nodding in approval. "Daichi, start drawing up a plan for those defensive measures you mentioned and bring them to me by tomorrow evening. And while you're at it, have Kohaku start investigating just exactly who it was that dare think they could steal from us. I want them squashed." Daichi nodded obediently, walking out of the room to make the call to the sleuth that was stationed on guard duty at one of the warehouses for the night.

Ritsu remained quiet, as he had throughout the entire exchange of information, as his old man clapped and smiled around at the men. "Well, now that that's all done, to commemorate my son's new step into his role as my successor, we are all to dine on a meal of his choosing. I'm sure it hasn't slipped your attention that the arrival of our newest member has broadened his interests, and therefore we are all having what is called 'hamburgers'." A murmur went around the room as the men quietly voiced their excitement and concerns, none of them ever having had much American food in their lives, if any, and Ritsu rubbed the back of his neck, looking down at the table.

Just then, as if on cue, all of the men the cook had apprehended to help him showed up, placing trays of various fixings and cooked hamburger patties along the table. Ritsu's mouth watered as he looked at it all and he smiled, knowing that Daria had overseen the construction of it all and that it, therefore, would be delicious, just like everything else she had ever cooked him. All of the men took their seats now, foregoing the ability to move about as they needed to do during the briefing, and looked at their young lord expectantly. He gulped in nervousness, not used to having so much attention on him, and tried to calm his shaking legs. He was saved, then, when a hand appeared right next to him, setting down a bottle of what appeared to be some kind of sauce, and his eyes traveled up it to find a smiling Daria at the end.

"I know you like the Mac Sauce on the Big Macs so I made you some." She explained, squeezing his shoulder reassuringly and lightly kissing him on the cheek. His face burned red, but he could care less that all the eyes in the room were on him for once. "I've already eaten. I'll be in my room studying. I'll see you later tonight." She smiled as she turned, walking out of the room and bowing her head to all of the men who bid her a good evening. "Well, son, how do we eat this then?" Lee-Fu smiled slyly, overjoyed at the interaction that had just taken place. Ritsu turned and smiled as well, catching a lot of the men off guard, and reached forward to grab all of the components he needed for his burger, explaining the basic construction and that the fixings and condiments were optional depending on everyone's individual taste. By the time he was done, his own plate held a burger piled high with lettuce, onions, pickles, tomatoes, cheese and the thickest patty he could find and it was nearly dripping with the special sauce Daria had made him, and when he bit into it, he nearly cried in satisfaction. The men mimicked his actions, and they were each pleasantly surprised by the meal before them.

Small conversations started between pairs and trios of the men as they all ate. "This is delightful." Ritsu turned to look at his old man as he took a bite of a fried potato wedge dipped in ketchup. "Yeah. It's the first American meal Daria introduced me to. It apparently originated in Germany, but America turned it into… Well, this. I love it." He shoved another huge bite of his burger into his mouth and chewed it slowly, savoring the flavor. This was much better than the one he had had at McDonalds. "I see. Well son, do you have any questions about the meeting?"

Ritsu swallowed and looked at his old man, straightening his back. "Yeah, actually. So we obviously deal with weapons and drugs, do we do anything else?" Lee-Fu nodded and took a sip of his water. "We provide protection for a senior citizen's home that is within our territory, and there is a fighting ring we deal in. Masaru is our undefeated champion. Has been for the last two years. And there are a couple brothels in our territory that we do business with." Ritsu nodded, not really interested in the bit about the brothels, but happy about the senior citizen's home. A gangster is a gangster but Ritsu's moral compass pointed more true than most in their line of work, and he wanted to shape the Kasanoda-Gumi syndicate to be a bit more moral when he was in charge. It made him feel like a better man, a man deserving of the opportunities presented to him.

####

"Hey, Daria, there is a man looking for you. He looks official." Tetsuya said from her doorway, holding his dust-clearing sidekick close to his body. Daria took a deep breath and pulled herself out of the trance she had entered, nodding to her friend and hauling herself up off of the floor. Her therapist had suggested she try meditation to help her keep a clear head and control her emotions a little better, so she had been spending at least an hour every day sitting in her floor alone with her legs crossed and her eyes closed, focusing on breathing. "Thanks Tetsuya." She smiled, moving around him and heading for the front of the house.

"Miss Engebretson?" The man she found in the entry way did indeed look official. He stood tall with an air of professionalism and donned a sharp black suit, tie and all. "Yes? How may I help you?" Daria took notice of Lee-Fu and Koh, standing off to the side looking at some papers very concernedly and she began to feel nervous. "My name is Onio Hatsumara; I work at a law firm that partners with the one in America that dealt with your cases and filings." Daria nodded, biting her lip. "As has been outlined in the constraints of the ruling, it is my duty to inform you that your biological father, Gerald Ericksen, is being released from prison one week from today. He is being paroled early on account of good behavior. I must advise you to take extreme caution. Should he try to contact you, please immediately inform both your adoptive father and myself, as it is a violation of both his parole and your adoption agreement." Daria's entire body shook as she took the business card Hatsumara offered to her. All of the color had drained out of her complexion and she stumbled over a thank you to the man before she made her way to the entryway bench and sat down, trying to avoid collapsing right there in the middle of the floor.

Hatsumara exchanged a few more words with Koh and Lee-Fu, informing them of how to get ahold of him and other things they needed to know, and Daria just sat there shaking. She forced herself to breathe slowly so she wouldn't hyperventilate. " _How can he possibly be getting out on good behavior?"_ She questioned frantically to herself. " _The man is a monster! There is nothing good about his behavior!"_ She continued to breathe as she worked through her freak out, knowing that if she didn't sort herself through it, it could very well mean a repeat of the punching bag incident, and as she continued to breathe and think and rationalize, she began to shake for a different reason. Her fear turned to anger and the ice in her blood morphed into fire.

Just as Hatsumara was bidding the two men goodbye, she shot up, garnering quick glances her way, and proceeded to march to the back of the house and out the door, not stopping until she reached the training garden. Somewhere along the way, she had picked up an aluminum baseball bat, of all things, and for the life of her she couldn't remember where or when but she for damn sure didn't care as she gripped it tight in both hands and swung, slamming it down hard on a huge rock that stood off to the edge of the area. She let out a loud cry, filled with rage and hurt and fear and fury and swung again. She continued swinging and screaming, not stopping until the bat was a bent and dented mess and the rock had chipped quite a few times, and finally she sank to her knees and let out the tears that she hadn't noticed she had been holding back.

She cried and cried for she didn't know how long, not bothering to hold back the loud sobs or occasional scream as she hung her head and banged her fists against the ground at the injustice. She continued to cry and scream when a pair of strong arms wrapped themselves around her and held her tight, ignoring the calm shushes and encouraging words. She went on for a while, only finally calming down when her throat felt raw and her eyes were so puffy that she could hardly open them, and just leaned back, resting against Ritsu's chest. Silence settled over them as they sat there on the ground, both hardly breathing. Ritsu was the first to break the silence. "What happened, Daria?"

"My piece of trash father is being let out of prison." She rasped out, sounding distant. Ritsu frowned, hugging her tighter. "I didn't know you knew of where your father was." He said quietly, resting his chin on the top of her head. She let out a single laugh, harsh with irony. "Oh I know where he is alright. The bastard has been in prison since I was six years old." She sighed, wishing she could erase the memories she was reliving. "Do you want to tell me about it?" Ritsu asked. For a long time, Daria didn't say anything, just sat there without moving, and just when Ritsu was about to give up, she spoke.

"My mother was fourteen when she met him. Had me when she was fifteen. He was thirty-seven. He disappeared right after she told him she was pregnant, and didn't show back up until I was four. He uh… He molested me. He was only around for two weeks, but that was more than enough time…." Ritsu gasped in shock, and it turned into an angry growl. "When I was six he was arrested for eighteen counts of child molestation. Nine of them were of his own kids, myself included. I have five half-sisters and three half-brothers thanks to him… And the monster hurt every last one of us… And they're letting him out of prison next week, ten years early, on "good behavior"." Daria scoffed, disgusted down to her core.

"He won't get anywhere near you." Ritsu ground out with a ringing air of finality. "You can be damn sure that you are as safe as you can be, Daria. My old man, our men… Me… We'll all protect you. That bastard will never hurt you again." Daria didn't think she could possibly cry anymore, but tears made their way down her face, fresh tracks in the dried salt. She turned around fast as lightning and hugged Ritsu tight, so tight it was difficult for him to breathe, but he didn't care. He refused to let her go in that moment. "I'll protect you." He whispered. "I promise."

####

 **Author's Note:**

 **Hello, my lovelies. I do sincerely apologize for taking so long to post this chapter (I realize that a week isn't actually that long compared to most people's posts, but it still kills me.) I had to go out of town to visit my grandmother for the weekend and we brought back my memaw (great grandmother) with us, so between her constantly running me ragged making me clean my own house and having to chase her down to make her remember to use her walker and giving her her meds at all the right times and listening to her lovely stories about her life while Gone With the Wind drones on in the background constantly, then having to deal with school on top of that, it's been kind of hard to write. Lol. But I'm managing. It's fun. I love the woman to death.**

 **To my beautiful guest reviewer,  
Words can not express how amazing it was to wake up to your kind, encouraging words. I am so happy you feel that I am portraying such a healthy relationship as opposed to the dysfunctional ones that happen in most fanfics. I know exactly what you mean about how they're creepy lol. I am just as guilty as the next person of reading and enjoying those fics, but that wasn't what I wanted for this story and I am glad to hear I am pulling it off so far =D **

**That's all I've got for now. I'll try to write as much as possible this week, but if it doesn't happen, you can all blame my memaw ;D**

 **Namaste,**

 **Fray**


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

"Here is a list of various models. They are organized by brand and compare price, quality and reviews. I believe this will help you with what you are looking for." Ootori pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose as he handed Ritsu a rather comprehensive packet of information. It had taken a while for the upper-classman to get back to him with the research, excusing himself saying he was busy keeping up with Suoh's shenanigans, but he was grateful nonetheless. "Thank you, senpai." The older boy nodded and turned back to his laptop, crunching more numbers. Ritsu heaved a heavy sigh, looking around trying to decide what to do to fill his time.

Daria was at a meeting with her therapist, unscheduled but very necessary thanks to the previous day's revelations, which left him to his own devices. He had already spent an hour in the library working on all of his assignments, leaving only the revision of his essay for English Language for the week, but he wanted to wait until he had Daria read it over before he touched it again. He considered running next door to pay a visit to Nekozawa, but he had yet to find a common ground with the guy other than their night frolicking amidst the drunken masses, and he didn't want to bring that up for fear of accidentally outing him like the awkward, socially-inept idiot that (he felt) he was.

"Bossanova-chan! Come have cake with us!" He turned and spied the small University First Year sitting at his usual table, Mori-senpai with him (of course), and both of them surrounded by a crowd of girls. " _Well… What do I have to lose?"_ He tucked his packet of stereo comparisons under his arm, shoved his hands in his pockets and strolled over to them, bowing his respects to Mori and blushing at all the girls suddenly paying attention to him. "Thank you, Honey-senpai. It is an honor." He blurted, his nerves getting the better of him as he accidentally made the statement sound far more harsh than it actually was. All of the table's occupants froze, making Ritsu hang his head and rub his neck uncomfortably. "It's nothing... Here! Have this slice! It has a chocolate swirl in it!" Honey finally said, breaking the tension and allowing everyone to thaw. Ritsu took a seat and a fork and politely dug in, finding he rather enjoyed the decadent combination of chocolate mixed with the strawberry cake, his mind wondering if Daria knew how to make anything like this.

"Hey, Casanova. What brings you here today?" Ritsu was brought back to Earth when Haruhi suddenly appeared, refilling the table's tea pot. "I had to pick up something from Ootori-senpai." He replied once he finally swallowed the bite of cake he had been mulling around in his mouth, reaching to pour himself a cup of tea to wash it down. "I see. Where is Daria? You two are usually joined at the hip." Ritsu looked down for a moment, remembering how blankly she had looked at him for the rest of the evening after her initial reaction to the news, and how she had tossed and turned all night, whimpering. "She uh… She had an appointment. Shouldn't take too much longer, I think. I'm supposed to go pick her up once she texts me." Haruhi nodded, setting down the now-full container of sugar cubes. "Well that's nice of you. Please tell her I said hi." Ritsu assured her he would, returning her smile as she pushed her cart to the next table.

"Daria isn't sick, is she?" One of the girls asked him, catching him off guard with how sincerely concerned she sounded. After studying her for a moment, he came to the conclusion that he had absolutely no idea whatsoever who she was, assuming she was in a higher class than he and Daria were in. "No, no, nothing like that." He told her, assuaging her concern a bit. "She just had to talk to someone about something important that came up. Nothing too big." Well that was a damn dirty lie; what Daria was talking to her therapist about was a huge deal, but none of these people needed to know a single thing about it. The girl lit up at his words. "Well, that's a relief. I'd hate for anything bad to happen to her. We all would. You two are so cute and look so happy together." That, he _definitely_ didn't expect, but he didn't mind it one bit. "Thank you, miss." He said to her in clipped, nerve-filled syllables. "I will communicate to her your kind sentiments." His lessons with Daria had improved more than his ability to speak the English language; his own everyday vernacular had taken on a more sophisticated set of vocabulary words. Just like that… All those big words….

"Hey, Bossanova? Daria-Chan knows how to fight, right?" Honey's high-pitched voice asked, claiming the red head's attention. "Yeah. She's actually been teaching me for the past few months. Why?" "Taka-Chan and I were wondering if we could spar with her sometime. See if we can hold up against some American moves." The girls all squealed as Honey proceeded to do adorable little karate moves with his arms and Ritsu thought the idea over. Daria shouldn't be in too bad of shape after a couple days, and she was physically perfectly fine. _"More than perfectly fine physically._ " He thought shamefully. He felt she was fine to fight a little; that she would actually enjoy it quite a bit. "I'll ask her and let you know, senpai." Ritsu nodded, eliciting a huge, happy, hyper reaction from the smaller man, and even a small smile from his stoic cousin. He was quickly building a whole list of things he needed to tell Daria from other people. Ritsu nodded and took the last bite of his cake just in time for his phone to buzz, a text from the girl in question herself lighting up the screen, cueing him to leave the Host Club for the day.

Koh was never one for words. He was more a man of action, and even those he chose carefully. Adopting Daria had been one of those carefully chosen actions. When she had casually slipped his wallet out of his back pocket that day all those months ago, he had known right then that she was the one they were looking for. Just the very fact that she knew how to do that without even having to distract him by bumping into him told him that she knew her fair share of hardship and therefore would be able to hold her own in the home of a Yakuza. And that hardship told him that she needed something better for herself. He had been a member of the Kasanoda-Gumi since he was nineteen years old. Had worked under Lee-Fu's leadership that whole time. He had no doubt in his mind that the older man and the young lord could give the girl that opportunity as well as a good family and a real future.

He did not regret the decision to adopt Daria in the slightest. She was well mannered, well-tempered, and yet fierce in her passions and commitments. Just the way that she had immediately opened up to the relationship she had been contracted into and helped it thrive was a huge relief and success to the whole syndicate, as well as to him personally. He had looked after the Young Lord ever since he was still a surprise in his mother's womb. He had not hesitated to rush out in the middle of the night for a sudden snack Aimi suddenly had a craving for, nor to kneel down and rub her feet when they were hurting, all in the name of caring for the son of his great leader. Having found such a compatible match for the Young Lord was something he prided himself on very highly. The girl had worked wonders to help open up the Young Lord and their happiness radiated, even when she was having troubles. Which she did. A lot of them.

The news Hatsumara had delivered to them chilled Koh to the bone. That a man could be so despicable, commit such unspeakable acts against his children, especially one so incredibly selfless and smart and kind as Daria, ignited a rage in him that he was having a hard time controlling. He had taken to the shooting range that was built into the basement of the other residential house on the property and unloaded clip after clip after clip into at least a dozen body shaped targets, pretending each and every one of them was that bastard Ericksen. He would die protecting the Young Lord, and he would die protecting Daria. She was the Young Lord's betrothed. She was the light that had come to the tight-knit family that was the Kasanoda-Gumi syndicate. She was… She was his daughter… He was her father. And he did not take that responsibility lightly. He may not be the kind of father that was close with his child, and he may only be her adoptive father because of a deal his Lord needed to make, but he for damn sure would do the job a far sight better than that sick, pathetic excuse for a human being ever could.

"Hello, Koh." He started, turning in surprise to see the very girl that had been on his mind. She was wearing sweatpants and a loose tee shirt, and her hair was up in a sloppy bun, indicating her therapy session had been especially taxing and she just wanted to relax. She held in her hands two cups that were steaming, further confirming his suspicions. He gave a small smile and a single nod before turning back to the gun he had been cleaning.

Over the months he had had small interactions with Daria; a hello here, a smile in passing there. Like with the Young Lord, he chose to watch over her from afar, and instilled immense fear into anyone he saw give her a cross look. She had yet to notice, but many people out in the general public had taken issue with her presence, old prejudices against Americans being the root, but he had wasted no time in having a word with them about their snobbish behavior. He was content with her ignorance. No one as absolutely kind as her needed to ever be brought down by such nasty negativity.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her take a seat across from him and push a cup toward him. A quick glance revealed that it was green tea, freshly brewed and dressed up with a small amount of milk, just the way he liked it. "Thank you." He said simply, taking a long sip, savoring the mild, creamy taste of it. He saw her smile as she sipped from her own cup. They fell into a comfortable silence, him working on the various parts to his hand gun and her sipping her tea and staring out into space. "I wanted to thank you, Koh." He gave her a sharp look. "What for?" He asked after another moment of silence. "For bringing me here. If it weren't for you, I'd still be roaming the streets of Washington. I probably wouldn't even know about my father getting out of prison for a while because it always took them forever to find me again. And I wouldn't have any protection against him if he tried to find me. So thank you, for bringing me here and for protecting me. I am forever in your debt."

"You are in no one's debt, my lady." He replied humbly. "You are doing your part to pull your own weight around here. More than your part. You care for us all when we are sick, you care for the Young Lord, you make excellent grades. You will be a wonderful wife and partner for the Young Lord. Out of all the people I could have found for him, I am glad it was you." That was the most he had said to anyone at one time since Aimi was still alive. But every bit of it was the truth, and she needed to know that. "Is the Young Lord well?" He asked once she had seemed to absorb and process his words. She smiled softly, looking down into her cup. "Yes, he's quite well. He is doing the final revision on his essay, so I decided to let him have a bit of peace." Koh nodded, sliding the empty magazine into the now clean and reassembled GP 35. "Well that was very wise and thoughtful of you." He smiled at her.

"Well, this is the address." Ritsu nodded, double checking the number on the front of the building with the smudged ink on the back of his hand. Daria smiled and grabbed the same hand, bringing it up to her face and licking the back of it. Ritsu didn't move, however; simply adopted a mildly annoyed expression as she proceeded to rub the hem of her shirt over her spit, effectively removing most of the ink. "That wasn't really necessary, you know." He droned, face in a flat deadpan. "I know. But you usually try to attack me when I lick you, so I figured I would at least make it a useful gesture this time." He sighed and shook his head, shoving his now-cleaned hand in the pocket of his jeans and lacing the fingers of his other hand with hers. "Shall we, then?" He asked her, nodding to the brick building in front of them. "Yes. Let's." She smiled and stepped forward, leading him up the walkway and through the door.

"Hi, how can I help you?" a stout receptionist greeted them. "We were wondering if we could volunteer. Read the residents some stories or something?" Daria's eyes opened a fraction wider, hoping the answer would be yes. She let out a breath she hadn't known she had been holding when the greying woman smiled at her. "Of course. Here, please sign into this log and I'll get you both some visitors' passes." Daria grinned, trying to contain her excitement as she printed and signed her name and handed the roster to Ritsu. She was practically giddy. She hadn't spent time with any grandparent-type people since her own grandmother's funeral.

"Here you are. If you'll follow me, we can head into the rec room. Most of the residents are in there around this time of day." The newly-dyed mahogany haired teenager wasted no time in following the woman as she clipped on her pass, barely noticing the nervous footsteps of her fiancé following close behind. "The residents will be so glad you came by. They just love visitors." The receptionist explained, smiling back at the two. "Ah, here we are. Over here is Yui. Hi, Yui. You have a visitor." Daria was led over to an adorably tiny old woman with pale skin and hair as white as snow. Her face was dominated by a huge, thick pair of glasses and her hands were busy knitting what appeared to be a beautifully intricate afghan. "Hi, Yui. My name is Daria." The teenage girl bowed low, showing her respects to the older woman. "Hello, dear. My, what shocking hair you have. It's quite beautiful." Daria grinned widely, taking a seat in the chair next to her new companion as the receptionist led Ritsu away to pair him up with someone.

Ritsu sighed to himself as he glanced over at Daria for what seemed to be the millionth time. He had gotten paired up with Yuudai, a crotchety old war veteran who never shut up about his glory days and whose every other statement was something incredibly racist and rude. All Ritsu had heard for the last hour was Hiroshima this and Damn Yankees that, and Ritsu was dying for an escape from the angry old man. The entire time they had been there, he had never seen the huge, beautiful smile leave Daria's face, and her laughter rang like bells across the room as she visited with the kind looking old woman. "Hey! Boy! Aren't you listening to me? You need to learn to respect your elders!" Yuudai barked at him, effectively regaining his attention. "I uh… I'm sorry, sir." Ritsu rubbed the back of his neck and looked at the floor. The senior leaned forward in his wheelchair, one eye squinted as he sized up the teenage boy.

"Ain't you the kid of that mafia fellow?" Ritsu gulped, feeling himself start to sweat with nervousness. "Uh… Yes, sir. I am Ritsu Kasanoda." The old man leaned back in his wheel chair, thinking for a moment as he sucked his teeth. "You're the one whose father runs this territory, ain't ya?" Ritsu nodded, squeaking out a meek affirmative reply. "Nasty business, that yakuza. Dangerous. I sure hope you know what you're doing. Could get yourself killed, otherwise." Ritsu's mind went blank at that, never having considered the possibility that he could, in fact, very well be killed in his family's line of work. " _Oh god, what would happen to Daria?"_ He started to panic, suddenly wondering how in the hell he was going to be able to take care of her if he was dead, when a hand lightly gripped his shoulder, bringing him back to the real world. "They're about to start handing out meds and snacks, Ritsu." Daria smiled down at him. "We should help them with the food." Ritsu nodded desperately, tripping over himself as he stumbled out of the chair and followed her hurriedly, gritting his teeth as he heard Yuudai growl out a whole string of derogatory statements upon seeing the American girl.

"That was fun, Ritsu. Thank you. I had no idea there was a senior citizen home so close to us." Daria smiled, leaning her head on his shoulder as she lightly clutched his arm, both of them walking in the direction of home. "Neither did I until the meeting I attended with my old man the other day." Ritsu seemed to be lost in thought, still mildly panicking about if he were to die and planning to ask his father about such an event the next time he saw him. "How did that go, by the way? You seemed very quiet when I walked in there."

"It was good. Very informative, as you can tell from our trip." He gestured behind them in the direction of the senior citizen's home. Daria giggled and shoved him lightly. "Well, _yeah_ , Mr. Sassy Britches." She laughed. "But how did it _go?_ Does it seem like something you can stomach for the next however many decades?" Ritsu thought about this very hard, weighing the pros and cons, but ultimately knowing he didn't really have a choice. "It really wasn't bad. I mean, it was only a meeting. They didn't get into the nitty gritty of anything, just discussed a bit of recent events concerning business. Something about a warehouse getting cased and a few weapons getting stolen and some drug deal… I imagine all the hard stuff comes when they actually have to _do_ something, not when they're just talking and strategizing."

"That's true. Running any business is like a huge chess match. But running a gang adds in a few more pieces and rules that need to be followed. Mafia activity means having to jump hoops through the legal system, deal with other criminals. Loyalty takes on a whole new meaning. It's rather complicated…." Daria trailed off, looking at the path ahead of them. Ritsu just stared at her, once again dumbfounded. He somehow always forgot that she already had gang experience, and times like this proved that even though he had been raised in it, all of his knowledge was purely hypothetical whereas hers was the real deal. She had been in dangerous situations and she had seen the ugly side to that kind of life. She hadn't agreed to marry him and secure her own future blindly. She knew _exactly_ what she was getting herself into.

"You know…" He said, clearing his throat. "I feel like with you at my side, I'll be able to handle anything this throws at me." They both blushed. "I'm really not that great, Ritsu-" "No, think about it." He cut her off. "You've already been so good for me. I am who I am right now because of you. Otherwise I'd still spend every evening digging in my garden or reading alone in my room. Never in a million years would I have visited a senior citizen home for fun if you hadn't come into my life. Every now and then, someone points out that I'm a 'kind person' with a 'gentle soul' or some shit like that because I gave Tetsuya a place to go and I nursed a bird back to health, but honestly, I didn't really do much." Daria bit her lip, taking in every word.

"And not only have you changed me for the better, but I know you'll continue to. I really can do anything as long as I have you. I have no fucking clue what I'm doing. I don't know a damn thing about running a gang other than having a scary face, but you… You _do._ You can help me with this shit. You know what goes on, what needs to be done. _How_ to do it all. I don't. And not only that, but you're gonna be a lawyer. And you are _damn_ smart, Daria. You can help me shape everything. I have my own ideas for how I want to change things once I'm in charge, and you can help make sure everything goes down smoothly. Find all the loopholes in the law so that we could do things and minimize the risk of everything going south as far as the authorities are concerned. It's perfect. Everything is perfect with you…." Daria's eyes were wide as she looked at him, her heart swelling. After a moment, Ritsu coughed and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Anyway… Um… I'm glad you had a good time. That old bastard I got sat with was just a big bag of war stories and fucked up racial remarks." Daria laughed, shaking her head at him. "I'm sorry you had to deal with that. Yui was very kind and sweet. She tried to show me how to knit, but that's not exactly something you can learn just by watching in the span of two hours." Ritsu grumbled a bit but kept his pace, matching his stride to accommodate the woman hanging off of his arm, secretly loving the attention.

"You miss your grandmother, huh?" He asked her softly. Daria was silent for a moment. "I do. A lot. She was the only person that was ever nice to me and treated me like I mattered before I came here. She was more a mother to me than my real mother could ever be. She taught me to walk and talk and tie my shoes and cook…." Ritsu stopped walking and slipped his arm from the girl's grip, placing it around her waist and pulling her to him. "I wish I could have met her." He said simply, his voice deepening as he leaned his forehead against hers. "So do I. She would have loved you." Daria chuckled sadly, looking into his incredibly close, chocolate-colored eyes.

Her hands found their way to his chest and she tipped her head, pressing her lips against his own, moving them slowly and lazily. He wasted no time in reciprocating, wrapping both of his arms around her and holding her firmly, his tongue tracing her bottom lip. She replied by catching his own lip between her teeth, tugging lightly, causing him to smirk. "You have no idea what you do to me." He said to her, his voice incredibly deep and husky. "Oh, I think I know. We share a bed, remember? And I wake up before you. I see you every morning." Ritsu gasped and immediately colored blood red, staring at her in shock. She laughed lightly. "Don't worry. I like what I do to you." She pressed herself tighter against him, creating friction between them that sent his body into a whirlwind of responses.

Before he had a chance to say anything, however, they were interrupted by a kid zooming past them on a bicycle, reminding them both that they were standing out on a sidewalk in the middle of public and not in the privacy of their own room. Daria smiled and broke away from him, staying close to provide him cover as he adjusted himself before they both turned back in the direction of home and proceeded to walk the rest of the way in a comfortable silence.

Ritsu was horrible at card games. It was decided. No matter what game they played, he always lost. Really, at this point, the goal was just to last longer than he had previously, because he had given up on ever winning. Currently, they were playing poker, and by the time it was over, Ritsu was going to be heavily in debt to his three opponents. He already owed Daria a foot massage, Tetsuya had won his left sock (he had no goddamn idea why he had bet his left sock, but he had lost it and now he was a sock short), and Ayame had an IOU for a photo shoot, for which she had threatened to go as far as do his makeup in the name of art. "Ughh! I fold." Ritsu threw his hand down and crossed his arms, glaring at the table in front of him like a child in the midst of a tantrum. They all laughed at him for a moment before returning to their previous state of mysterious, game-winning wonder. A silent intimidation contest happened before his very eyes as they each sized each other up.

"Alright everyone, throw down on three." Daria said, sensing that neither of the other two would follow in Ritsu's footsteps and fold. "One." Ayame's eyebrow quirked. "Two." Ritsu could practically hear the old western showdown tune. "Three!" They all threw down their cards, instantaneously followed by a collective groan as Daria wiped the floor with their asses _again_. She cackled maniacally as she grabbed the slips of paper in the center of the table that they had all been writing their offerings on in lieu of actual money. She had won Tetsuya's favorite plain black tee shirt, Ayame had to give up some lip gloss and Ritsu had to push her on a swing at the park for twenty minutes. Was their game childish? Yes. Was it satisfying for the winner? Judging by Daria's reaction, incredibly. He wouldn't know. "I'm starting to think you're cheating." Tetsuya grumbled, rolling his eyes at Daria's victory dance. "Nope. Just incredibly good at reading all of you is all." She laughed, plopping back down on her seat.

Suddenly there was the sound of tires screeching outside and a bunch of heavy footsteps, followed by at least six men running by the dining room where they were all sat and out the door. "What the hell?" Ritsu mumbled as all four of them shot up and followed suit. There were even more men outside and it was hard to see in the dark of the night, as the lamp post out in front of the gate had blown the other day and the city had yet to replace the bulb, but the commotion hadn't been hard to follow. It seemed like every man that lived on the property was yelling. Tetsuya and Ayame hung back while Ritsu and Daria pushed through the crowd, not stopping until they reached the center. They both were shocked. Right there in the middle of all the chaos lay Jin, one of the men that lived in the other house, bloody and bruised and swollen. He usually was the one who drove whenever anyone needed to go somewhere. He was small, not making it past five-foot-one unless he wore tall shoes, and he was nice. He always picked flowers for Daria when he was out on landscape duty, tending to the grass and hedges.

"Shit!" Daria yelled, snapping out of her trance before Ritsu, and he watched, dazed, as she flew into action, dropping to his side. She was a flurry of activity as she carefully rolled him onto his back, checking his pulse first, then leaning over him to check and see if he was breathing. Which he wasn't, apparently, Ritsu concluded, as she proceeded to get into the position he had seen countless EMT's assume in all of the movies and shows she had made him watch and begin to pump his chest in rhythm. Everyone observed in shock, including his old man and Koh, who Ritsu now recognized directly across from him at the inner edge of the crowd, as Daria kept up the compressions, occasionally stopping to check Jin's vitals, until finally he drew in a sharp breath. They all jumped in surprise and Daria rolled Jin onto his side, after which he proceeded to vomit all over the stone and grass, he whole body twitching and convulsing as Daria held him in that position.

Ritsu finally shook himself out of it when she reached up and pressed the back of her hand to Jin's forehead and looked up to all the faces around her in panic. "He's suffering a meth overdose. Someone call the paramedics." One of the men inside the ring pulled out his cell phone and hurriedly dialed the number with shaking fingers while Ritsu and Koh both stepped forward, working together to lift the small, abused man and carry him to a cleaner part of the yard, following Daria's direction to the T. She refused to let them take him any further, saying moving him into the house would be too much motion and pointless because the paramedics needed to be able to access him as easily as possible. She once again collapsed next to him, rubbing his back and holding him on his side, and kept vigilant watch on his vitals until the flashing lights of the ambulance illuminated the yard.

Ritsu had never felt so helpless in his life. Not a single person there knew what to do except for Daria, and if she hadn't been there, Jin would have surely died. They all watched as she saved their man's life, stuck in a state of dumb shock. He sighed heavily and rubbed the back of his neck, rolling his head until the tension relieved with a loud crack. Daria was off to the side of the ambulance, talking with one of the paramedics as the others loaded him into the back of the vehicle and checked him over, and he was only able to tear his eyes off of her when the vehicle disappeared down the hill and his father called an emergency meeting in the dining room.

Daria sat beside Ritsu, her fingers laced with his as Lee-Fu paced back and forth, fuming. She sat tensely, never having expected to find herself amidst a gang meeting; at least not until Ritsu had taken over. Finally, the old man's angry voice broke the tense silence that filled the room. "WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED?!" Everyone jumped, but it still took a minute for someone to step forward. "I made a few calls." Daichi said, his voice heavy. "It was Jin's night off. He went to some club just outside the edge of our territory. He bought some drugs and a dealer from Sendo-Kai gave him something laced. Cut with some fucked up shit. There's been cases like this all week apparently. The ER's are overrun with people overdosing. As for his injuries, I can only assume they realized who he was and beat the hell out of him." Lee-Fu's breaths came quick and heavy, his nostrils flaring and his eyes glaring hard at every face in his line of sight.

"Unacceptable. This should never have happened. Not to one of our own, not to anyone. We need to confront Sendo-Kai." Lee-Fu slammed his fist down on the table with ringing finality as he said this, and out of the corner of her eye, Daria saw Tetsuya's façade of calm crack a little, in the form of a small facial twitch, before the blond squared his shoulders and put on the mask of an emotionless soldier, loyal to the end to the man who gave him a home when he had had nowhere to go. "Daichi, devise a plan of attack. Immediately. We are taking them on at all costs." Daichi nodded once, standing at attention. "No, we aren't."

It took everyone a second to get over their shock. Lee-Fu whipped around, eyes blazing as they landed on his only son. Daria's mouth hung open as she too stared at the red-head, but like Tetsuya, he squared his shoulders and stood, pulling her up next to him. "And just why the fuck not?!" Lee-Fu yelled, channeling all of his rage at Ritsu, but this game, the teenage boy could _most certainly_ play. He put on his best gangster face, glaring at his father and snarling a little bit, causing everyone in the room but Daria to freeze solid. "Why not?" Ritsu repeated the question, low and menacing. "Because this shit is just like a fucking chess match. Those fuckers just set us up for a trap, and the only way we can survive is by playing the smart move rather than the obvious one." Daria colored slightly as Ritsu recounted her words from their earlier conversation, and she squeezed his hand. He squeezed back, but his demeanor otherwise didn't change.

"With all due respect, old man, one of our men nearly _died_ tonight. Do you really want to sacrifice countless more in the name of revenge?" Lee-Fu seemed to deflate a little under his son's scrutinizing gaze, slightly tremoring as he let the younger man's words sink in. "I'm supposed to take over, right? This kind of shit is supposed to be my responsibility soon? Well then here it is. My suggestion, if you'll have it, is we will _not_ take on Sendo-Kai in a reckless goddamn fire fight. We arrange a meeting with the head and talk it out like fucking civilized people, and if that doesn't work, _then_ we devise offensive strategies." Everyone was deathly silent as their Young Lord spoke, a wave of apprehension and admiration washing over each and every one of them. Lee-Fu didn't speak for a few minutes, taking that time to collect himself and weigh the pros and cons of his son's plan in his own mind.

"Very well." He finally said, calmly. "We will try it your way. Daichi, take Tetsuya and make contact. Schedule a meeting with the head of Sendo-Kai." The man nodded, shaking slightly, as he and Tetsuya left the room to fulfill their leader's order. "Anything else, son?" Lee-Fu asked coolly. "Yes, as a matter of fact." Ritsu replied, wrapping his arm around Daria's waist. "If it hadn't been for Daria, Jin would have left here in a body bag instead of under an oxygen mask. We all sat like fucking ducks out there. We all need to take basic first aid training." Lee-Fu nodded, seeing the truth in his son's suggestion. "I fully agree. Daria," The older man turned to her. "Thank you for your swift response. We all owe you a debt. You saved one of our own. I highly commend you." Daria remained silent as she nodded to the man.

"As for the rest of us, I am highly disappointed. Myself included." He continued, addressing his men. "Riyu, I would like for you to do some research and start scheduling first aid classes. I want each and every member of our syndicate to attend them, including the members who live off-property with their families. I want their families to attend them too. If our newest member can save a life, then so can the rest of us." "Hai, sir." One of the men within the Lord's eyesight nodded, accepting his responsibility, and a murmur of agreeance rolled over everyone in the room.

Ritsu and Daria lay in bed, choosing his room for the night. She was curled up against his side and he mindlessly played with her hair, staring up at the ceiling. "Well today was certainly eventful…." She remarked dryly, tracing imaginary patterns over his chest, occasionally smoothing the tee shirt he wore. "You can say that again…." He sighed, making her head move with the motion. "I'm proud of you." She replied quietly. "Not many people can stand up to their parents like that, especially when it comes to something so important. You probably saved a bunch of lives tonight." He shifted his gaze down to her, watching the way her long eyelashes swept against her cheekbones when she blinked.

"Indirectly, perhaps, but you _actually_ saved a life tonight…" He said to her. "How did you know how to do that? How did you know what was happening to him?" He asked, finally voicing the question that had plagued his mind since the second they had found Jin laying there on the ground. Her fingers stilled and he felt her tense against him, her breath catching. "How do you think I ended up in the system?" She countered his questions quietly. "My mother's drug of choice is meth… She overdosed more than once… I had to know how to save her… The last time it happened when I was with her, someone had called the paramedics instead of just letting me take care of it. CPS took me directly from the hospital…." She began to bite her lip and closed her eyes, gripping his shirt in her hand slightly.

Ritsu sighed, resigning himself to the possibility that he would never hear a happy story whenever the girl in his arms spoke of her past. "I'm sorry, Daria…." He apologized, kissing the top of her head. "Don't be." Her voice wavered. "I'm here now. I have you. Everything else is just details."

 **Author's Note:**

 **Ok, I'm just gonna go ahead and say I am sorry if the interactions between Ritsu and the old man at the senior citizen's home don't seem very... Japanese? I guess? I strive for authenticity above all else, and pride myself on making the interactions between my characters as real as possible, but I am a Texan, and as vast as my knowledge of movies and literature and history are, I came to the realization as I was writing this that I have never actually seen or read anything that described a Japanese WWII veteran. You can find plenty on Nazi's who escaped persecution, but I have yet to see anything that described a modern day Japanese WWII vet. If anyone can point me in the direction of some form of information that can remedy my little conundrum, it would be greatly appreciated. Until then, all I have to go on is the angry old WWII vets that you can find here in America, of which I have had many interactions with thanks to my stepfather being a Lab Tech at a VA Hospital, and so, our new friend Mr. Yuudai is born.**

 **I want to thank everyone who reads this and everyone who follows and favorites it. Like I said before, I am not going to bug you all about that kind of stuff, but it** ** _is_** **greatly appreciated. Even if you don't review it, every time I get an email saying someone has begun following or has favorited my fic, I become even more inspired to keep writing, and it makes me smile when I check that nifty little chart that tells me how many people have read this story each day. I have never actually published any of my fic before, and now I know why I have never finished any of them before either lol Without the drive to not disappoint all of you who look forward to the next chapter, I probably, shamefully, would have stopped writing this after like chapter 2. So know, my dear, lovely readers, that you make a difference, and I thank you.**

 **Ok, sappy rant over. Have a wonderful Halloween, stay safe, and visit a good haunted house for me. I used to live in Reno and attended the Slaughter House every year, and even worked in it two years ago, so you can all imagine how disappointed I am in the conservative Texas town I now live in haha**

 **Namaste,**

 **Fray**


	13. Chapter 13

**Warning: This chapter gets a little saucy. Enjoy.**

Chapter 13

Adrenaline was rushing through her veins. Her eyes were narrowed ever so slightly as she analyzed her opponents, searching out their strengths and their weaknesses, trying to make educated guesses to the kind of strikes they would deal first. Eye of the Tiger pumped over the sound system, operated by an audience of one. Ritsu just thought he was _so_ funny.

Suddenly there was movement. A body launched itself at her. She deflected it with a powerful forearm swing before snapping her fist back up to guard her face, her body easily falling into the familiar patterns of movement. Muscle memory was key, and she had learned a long time ago that practice definitely did not make perfect. The true saying was that practice makes permanent, and therefore she had spent countless hours over the span of two years honing her skills and practicing proper form. Her effort was not wasted. She had been praised rather highly for her technique; told, even, that if she were able to go through more legitimate channels, she could have become a top contender in the world of professional boxing or MMA.

She felt the energy shift in the air before she was able to see or hear the other body running toward her, and she reacted instinctively. Rolling onto her back and thrusting her feet upward, she caught the tall boy two years her senior in the stomach and used both her own strength and his momentum to launch him up and over her and across the sparring area. The next second found her on her feet again fending off a barrage of fists and kicks, which, due to the other older boy's size, were mainly aimed at her legs and midsection. The other boy once again ran at her and she waited until just before impact to spin out of the way, causing him to plow right into her smaller rival and send them in a tumbling mess of flips and flails; hilarious attempts to keep on their feet. She allowed them a moment to right themselves.

"Come on boys. I'm barely breaking a sweat." Daria jeered, bouncing back and forth on the balls of her feet. She proceeded to dance circles around the gym as her winded opponents stood hunched over in the middle, trying to catch their breath and glaring at her. "I never thought I'd see the day the great Haninozuka and Morinozuka duo couldn't keep up with a simple American street rat." She taunted, jumping forward to boop Honey on the nose and back again, refusing to stop moving. The two had shown up on the doorstep shortly after she and Ritsu had gotten home from school, claiming they wanted to challenge her to a round of east vs. west combat.

"It's hard, Dari-chan! We don't know your style of fighting!" Daria giggled. Over the last hour, they had gotten better at anticipating her moves, but they were so used to martial arts that their brains were having a hard time coping with her fluidity. Their entire fight was planned out in their heads, but Daria had completely cleared her mind, not allowing herself to plan and just going with the flow. Their downfall was their tendency to play a strategy game whereas she pretty much flailed her limbs around and turned them into punches and kicks, all while watching their muscle tics to predict what they were going to do. All in all, they were learning very quickly that they needed to branch out in their training.

That wasn't to say it was easy going against her, though. She knew she was a force to be reckoned with. She had never had formal training in any style of fighting. When she had run with the Shadow Clan, their idea of teaching her to fight was to sic their biggest guy on her and tell her to simply not die. Having never thrown a punch before in her life, she had quickly developed her own form of fighting to achieve this goal, and it proved effective against any adversary. It was more a game of push and pull than strategy to her.

Mind sharp, Daria was once again able to sense the movement before she saw it. She ducked quickly and rolled, avoiding Mori's swipe to her upper region and knocking his feet out from underneath him. In an instant, they were both on their feet and facing each other with their hands up in front of them, hers in loose fists protecting her face like a typical Boxer and his with open palms, staying true to his martial arts training. Before he could make a move, Daria rolled to the side, avoiding a flying Honey who would have surely landed a kick to her ribs, causing him to continue moving through the air until he hit the wall a few feet behind her. He recovered quickly and suddenly it was raining fire; punches and swipes and kicks and chops were exchanged in a flurry so fast that it was almost hard to follow. Mori was able to land a hit to her right shoulder at the same time Honey kicked her left foot out from under her, causing her to flip backwards and land on her back, but she used the momentum to flip herself and roll back up onto her feet.

Their fight continued on, none of them really getting any significant blows, before the two Japanese boys stood back and called it quits. Two hours without clear victory was enough for them. "That was fun, Dari-chan! We should do it again sometime!" Honey exclaimed as they each bowed to one other. "I agree. Maybe by then you'll both be able to actually take me on." She winked and the two laughed, embracing in a tight, sweaty hug. Mori stepped forward and patted the top of her head a few times. "Yeah." Was his only reply. "Are you two hungry?" She asked. "I can whip up something really quick. I'm supposed to cook tonight anyway because there's a business meeting." Daria glanced up at Ritsu, smiling reassuringly as he silently joined them by her side. "Sure! We'd love to have some of your cooking! What's on the menu?" Daria thought hard for a second, trying to figure out what she wanted to cook. "Have you guys ever had Sheppard's Pie?"

####

That evening's meeting found the men not in the dining room, as was the normal course of events, but rather out in the city, congregated in an alley just down the block from the club where Jin had been sold tainted drugs and subsequently beaten nearly to death. A cold front had moved in, a reminder that fall had just taken its place, and thus all of them were huddled in jackets and had donned hats and gloves to combat the wind chill that day. Ritsu leaned against the side of one of the buildings, clad in his favorite leather jacket and tucked from view by a dumpster. He was there to learn the tricks of the trade, but he was still only seventeen. His safety was a top priority for all of the men there. His own mind, however, was on the fact that Daria was at home without any of the men there to protect her should another gang decide to strike home while they were all distracted. He felt better knowing Haninozuka and Morinozuka were there with her, both of them being martial arts champions, and he knew she was definitely no slouch in the self defense department, but he simply couldn't ease the knot of worry in his stomach.

Echoing footsteps broke the idle conversations happening throughout the group and Ritsu ever so discreetly peered around the corner of the dumpster to get a look. The newest addition to their body was a short, built man with a shaved head and a mean, jagged scar running down the left side of his face. A cigarette balanced between his lips as his deep, gruff voice called out to ascertain who the leader was. Lee-Fu stepped forward, Koh right at his side, and Ritsu quickly pulled back into his hiding spot; tuning his ears to be able to follow the conversation. "All right, Kasanoda." The liaison croaked. "Before anyone else joins us, my leader wants to know your intentions."

"The intentions are to talk. What actually happens, however, depends on the level of cooperation." A beat of silence followed, stretching on until Ritsu caught movement out of the corner of his eye; Tetsuya stepped forward. "Can your shit, Fong. Just go get my father." The older boy ground out, an icy intonation lacing his words. Another moment of silence before Ritsu could hear footsteps walking away from where the group had situated themselves. A few minutes passed before they returned, joined by company. There had to be at least seven guys, he was sure, but he didn't want to be spotted and start any shit for his old man. Not now. This was too important.

"Tetsuya." And older voice remarked coolly, not in the least bit impressed. Tetsuya did not reply, allowing his leader to take the floor, but Ritsu could practically hear his friend glaring at the man he called father. "Sendo. About time you showed up. What was your plan, to make us shiver to death?" Ritsu smiled at the thick level of sass his old man attached to his words. Fearless in the face of danger. That was a trait he would have to develop for himself, most surely, if he wanted to take over and run the syndicate properly.

"I had hoped I wouldn't be forced to leave the presence of my wife tonight, but obviously we don't always get what we wish." The cool voice retorted. "By the way, Tetsuya, your stepmother is due to give birth any day now. It's a shame you won't be around to meet your younger brother." Ritsu's head snapped up, glaring in the direction of the old bastard, almost growling in anger that his gaze only met the metal trash receptacle to his right. That was a low blow. Tetsuya had told him once of his stepmother, who was a year younger than himself (sick in its own right. Tetsuya had asked the woman on a date the year before she married his father), but now she was pregnant? And about to give birth, at that. During one of their more emotional, private moments, the blond had remarked offhandedly that Ritsu was the closest he had ever had to a brother, that he had always wanted a sibling, and now he was finally getting one, only to never be able to see him thanks to his chicken-shit father.

Tetsuya never said a word, however, and whether it was shock or anger or simple respect for his leader, Ritsu did not know. Were he not ordered to stand behind this dumpster, he would definitely have a few choice words for the opposing gang's leader; none of them civil. "Well then we better wrap this up so you can get back to her." Lee-Fu said in response to the information bomb that had been dropped on his son's best friend. It was becoming increasingly annoying being stuck in his hiding spot. He couldn't see anything, and the moments of silence were numerous. "Very well." Sendo replied. "The incident in question was justified. Your man was stumbling around like a belligerent idiot, picking fights and causing a scene."

"So that justifies selling him dangerously tainted drugs and nearly killing him? I don't think so. We looked into your recent dealings, Sendo. Your men have been selling shit that has cost a few people their lives and hospitalized at least twenty more. Your goons fractured his face in seven spots, snapped a few of his ribs and ripped his arm completely out of socket, among other injuries. I've known that guy since he was a teenager. He doesn't pick fights. He doesn't cause a scene. He picks bouquets of flowers for my son's fiancé, for crying out loud." "Exactly my point. His flirting caused a lot of unrest amongst my men. It's impossible to be with a woman discreetly when a drunken man-child is pushing his way into the transaction." Ritsu ground his teeth.

"You've gone too far." Lee-Fu continued as if he hadn't been interrupted. "Not only do you have to deal with the authorities investigating your shit practices, but now you have made an enemy in us." Ritsu could hear the derisive snort Sendo let out. "Play the superhero all you want, Kasanoda, but it won't win you the war you are asking for." "We will see." Was his old man's only reply. Footsteps could be heard as the opposing group made their leave. "If you were hoping for some civil solution to this, you are a fool. I'm not giving up my dealings." The treacherous snake threw over his shoulder, and then the group was alone in the alley.

####

Weeks passed without consequence. The looming threat Sendo had thrust upon the Kasanoda syndicate seemed to cast less of a shadow as life moved forward. Things returned to normal relatively quickly for all of the members of the household. All except one. The showdown with his father had agitated something within Tetsuya, scratching a deep wound that hadn't quite healed, and it had awakened a darkness that he had thought was long behind him. The very fight that had sent him out onto the streets to seek refuge from his own home was that of his father taking the girl that Tetsuya had been in love with as his bride, and now she was about to have a child? She, a girl a year younger than himself, was having his little brother. The younger sibling that Tetsuya had yearned and pined for his whole life. Once upon a time, Tetsuya had envisioned that girl's child calling him Dad, and now it would not only be his brother, but would never even know him.

The absurdity of it all had turned the young man incredibly bitter. He closed himself off from everyone. His closest friends were unable to communicate with him without being snapped at snidely. Ayame couldn't even get him to look at her. He barely left his room other than to do his daily duties, all of which were finished by noon, at which time he hid himself away and just lay in the dark, glaring at the ceiling. He knew that people were worried about him. He knew that if the tables were turned, he would be sick with worry for his friend. But he couldn't bring himself to care. Above all else, he felt deeply betrayed, and for the life of him, he just simply couldn't be the bigger man. He had succumbed to the loathing self-pity that he so righteously felt he deserved and if they couldn't understand that, then they could just fuck off for all he cared.

He was so deep into his hatred for it all that when Ayame had placed her hand on his shoulder, a simple gesture designed to show caring and understanding and support, it had very nearly burned him. It had not been that long ago that he craved every bit of her presence and being, and now he couldn't stand the sight of her. And what would be the point? Having her in his life, having her so close, only gave him something more to lose. He had only just been looking into her eyes and seeing love, holding her close and feeling a deep, carnal craving to always have her with him, and now all he saw when he looked at her was weakness. He couldn't bear it. It was weakness for a girl that had allowed his father to hurt him so harshly, and he would be damned if that would happen again. She had gone home crying that night, suffering at the brunt of his sharp words, and had yet to return or even make contact with the Young Lord or his beau, as far as he knew.

He admitted; most people in his position would tell themselves that they were doing it to protect the one they loved. Pushing them away to save them from himself. And while that was a beautiful and poetic lie, Shakespearian in its endeavors, it was nothing more than a huge load of bullshit. He was selfish. He knew that he was. But he didn't care. The thumping anxiety in his chest allowed him to only think of himself, and that was exactly what he would do until the universe decided to right all the wrongs he had been dealt.

####

"He still won't eat anything." Daria sighed, sinking down onto her side of Ritsu's bed, chewing her lip and fidgeting with her fingers. She had spent the better part of twenty minutes trying to get Tetsuya to unlock his door and allow her to hand him the plate of food the cook had prepared for him, but all to no avail, as had become the norm. Ritsu had enlightened her to all of the details concerning the meeting with the Sendo-Kai syndicate and she knew more than anyone else there the kind of pain that came with such a betrayal from one's own parent. Granted, her own mother had never married and had a kid with one of Daria's ex boyfriends, but she never hesitated to throw her under the bus just to make her next score. On more than one occasion, Daria had been punished severely by a foster parent or pulled from housing all together and thrown in solitary detention for a few days because a visit with her mother, when they were able to find the woman, had taken a less than legal turn.

"He'll come around. He just needs time." Ritsu mumbled, typing away at his computer as he half-heartedly constructed a rough draft for the presentation he was due to make in one of his classes in a few weeks. "I know that, but did you see Ayame the other night? She was heartbroken. Whatever he said to her was bad. Really bad…" She trailed off, a troubled expression taking over her features. Ritsu heaved a sigh and shut his computer, moving it to the table by his bed. He rolled toward her, resting all his weight on his right elbow as he leaned down to brush his lips against hers, effectively redirecting her thoughts to something less troublesome. They moved languidly for a few minutes, just reveling in each other's company, until his tongue just barely traced her bottom lip.

A surge of energy rolled through her then, and she caught his own lip between her teeth and reached up to tangle her fingers through his hair that he had left to its own devices, for once foregoing his normal pony tail and letting it hang free. It was soft beneath her fingers, and she gave it a little tug, eliciting a small gasp from the boy hovering over her. He wasted no time in moving further, hooking his leg over her own, holding her in place as he moved to trail kisses and light bites down her jawline and neck, grinning like a little shit when he found the spot just below her right ear that made her squirm, a discovery that had delighted him like a little child when he had found it a month before.

She reached down to tug at his shirt, pulling it until it was bunched up under his arms. Her hands contended themselves with roaming the smooth skin of his chest and toned abs while his own hands ran up her sides. Higher and higher they went, expecting to find the normal barrier that was her bra, but a shock ran down his spine when his thumb brushed the soft curve of flesh rather than the firm underwire he had grown used to. His eyes shot to her own, finding them shut tight and her lip held so tightly between her teeth that he was sure it would bruise. The touch had shocked her too, making her hyper-aware that she rarely was around him without a bra on unless they were sleeping, and a small whine escaped her throat before she could stop it.

He was frozen for a second, watching all of her little reactions, before he tested the movement again, rubbing the pad of his thumb lightly along the entirely foreign skin. He could feel the goosebumps raise all over her skin, see her breath quicken, hear the almost inaudible gasp that left her before she finally opened her eyes to meet his gaze. Her pupils were dilated an alarming amount and her nostrils flared ever so slightly when she breathed in. He momentarily took notice of the fact that her nose ring was twisted to the side, not centered like she was normally so careful to keep it, before his attention was brought to the fact that her back was arching slightly into his touch. He was amazed at how such small contact could have such an impact on her and he felt his own reaction happening, bringing a blush to his face.

Again his thumb moved, rubbing back and forth, slowly bringing his whole hand up until he was very nearly cupping her breast and kneading as he stared into her eyes, both of them breathing heavily. She leaned up then, reclaiming his lips with no small amount of fervor as she covered his hand with her own, over her shirt. Her right leg moved, pressing the inside of her thigh firmly against his hip and hooking her ankle around his backside, holding him as close to her as she could in their current position, and he moaned into the kiss, a deep, growling sound that lit a fire in the depths of her belly. With a little negotiating, she had managed to pull his shirt over his head and discard it on the floor, using the opportunity to shift herself beneath him so that both of her legs were wrapped around his hips and he was pressed against her in a way they had yet to be.

Her heart was pounding wildly and a small squeak escaped her lips when he suddenly attacked her with kisses, peppering them everywhere from her earlobe down to her collar bone and she drug her fingernails across his back, feeling his own goosebumps form as she did it. He was almost animalistic in his ministrations, his hands feeling every inch of her, even taking the time to trail up her arm and grasp her wrist, placing kisses and bites all along the inside of her forearm, a turn on she had never even knew existed until that very moment. He slowed down as he kissed her palm, making eye contact as he pressed his soft lips against the pads of her index and middle finger, and she had never felt that any moment could be more erotic than what she was experiencing right at that very second.

"R-Ritsu?" She stammered out, gasping as he ever so slightly shifted his hips, moving against her in a way that made her mind go completely blank. "Yes?" He asked, low and husky as he continued to kiss up her arm to her shoulder, moving to once again gently grasp his latest conquest and squeeze, making a long moan erupt from the girl beneath him. "Oh god…" She whispered, biting her lip and squeezing her thighs tighter around him. He chuckled against her skin, the sound shattering her attempt to form a coherent thought. "You… You're really good at making me forget how to think…." She whispered as he dipped his head, trailing the tip of his tongue along the valley between her breasts. The feeling of him on her, against her, all around her, had her in a daze that only left room for the most carnal of thoughts.

He looked up at her then, taking in how heavily she was panting and the sight of her colored hair splayed across the pillow, looking like a halo, and sighed heavily. "What's wrong?" She asked, suddenly worried. "Nothing." He said, shaking his head as he moved his hand down to her waist. "But if we don't stop now, I won't be able to help myself. And I don't exactly have any protection." He blushed heavily, both from embarrassment and irritation at the barricade in their situation, or lack thereof, as it may be. She reached up and ran her fingers through his hair again, gentler this time, tucking the locks behind his ear as she observed his incredibly handsome face. "Okay. It's fine. Maybe some other time." She whispered, the weight of her words resting over both of them.

He nodded his head, appearing deep in thought as he did so. "Yeah…" He said, his deep voice sounding almost lyrical to her ears. "I'd like that." She smiled encouragingly at him as she leaned up to kiss him, holding him close when he shifted so that his head was rested on her chest and he was listening to her heartbeat, neither saying a word as they lay in that position for quite some time.

####

 **Author's Note:**

 **Alright my loves, I, first and foremost, sincerely apologize for the wait. I never meant to take this long to update, but I got caught up with finishing my Marketing class (I do accelerated online schooling) and the Temp Agency sent me on a week long assignment scanning and indexing invoices at a beer distribution company for the oh so generous wage of a whopping $8/hr. -_-" I meant for this chapter to be longer, but writer's block has taken hold of me and I could not in good conscience make ya'll wait any longer. I will do my best to update sooner next time.**

 **To my beautiful guest reviewer, thank you for your support. It is greatly appreciated. As you can see, in this chapter, things will be heating up between the two. I'm just taking my sweet time getting there ;D As always, I will put warnings at the beginning of such chapters to alert those who wish to skip over the details, but as a fair warning to all, it _will_ be happening at some point.**

 **Thank you, again, for your patience. I love you all.**

 **Namaste,**

 **Fray**


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